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economist suntribune education thursday oct 3 2002 13 york board wants alternate diploma after seeing literacy test results by mitchell brown staff writer the york region district school board is among 20 provincial school boards calling for an alternate high- school diploma following the latest test results from the education quality and accountability office although 75 per cent of the grade 10 students who completed the twoday ontario secondary school literacy test last february passed the test 32000 stu dents did not raising fears many of them will not receive a highschool diploma we know that students who leave secondary school before graduating work less and for less than those who graduate said gerri gershon chairper son of the ontario public school boards association these students are a vital compo nent of the labour force and deserve the opportunity to show an employer an alternate diploma which reflects a pro gram of studies designed to prepare them to go to work on monday the eqao released results of its osslt a twoday test com pleted by more than 129000 grade 10 students last february about 97000 or 75 per cent of ontario students passed the reading and writing components of the test a requirement for graduation the other 25 per cent failed either the reading por tion five per cent the writing portion nine per cent or both 10 per cent or nearly 13000 students here in york region the numbers look a little brighter in the public system 82 per cent of the 6708 students who took the test passed both the reading and writing compo nents of the test while 77 per cent of almost 3000 students in the catholic sys tem achieved the same results however those numbers look slightly different when broken down by stream for example if only the students in the public boards academic stream are considered that is those students planning to go on to university the percentage of those who passed goes up to 89 per cent on the other hand students in the applied stream meaning those who want a diploma but do not plan to attend university scored only a 46 per cent passing rate the numbers are similar among catholic students with 87 per cent of academic students passing the test compared to only 32 per cent of applied students while those are slightly lower than the public boards figures board spokesperson chris cable said their numbers reflect the fact the york catholic board had the highest partici pation rate in the province with 97 per cent of eligible students writing the test compared to 92 per cent provincially the cold reality is those students must still pass this test ms cable said adding those students who failed will receive inschool remedial help education minister elizabeth witmer has said she would consider proposals for an alternate diploma but would not go into details about what would be required to obtain one the mere fact it is being considered is encouraging said public board spokesperson ross virgo who said the call for an alternate diploma has been ongoing for some time now we feel there ought to be alternative ways for students to feel successful because all children can achieve levels of success when it comes to reading and writing he said students who failed the test will get another chance to pass it oct 23 and 24 on sale aii october 5aripcfoberiv2od2 i pitted dates mms chocolate vsdflcly peanut walnut halves pieces or crumbs 1276 kg 79 51 lb no peanuts roasted salted or unsalted deluxe mixed nuts 1166 kg is29 ypsi ib shop save join millions of our satisfied customers premium quality and freshness guaranteed fresh stock arrives weekly over 4000 items including 200 types of candies chocolates gummies and sugarless sweets baking supplies raisins prunes dried fruits sugars mixes nuts spices specialty flours snacks over 100 of your favourites snacking nuts and mixes herbal supplements health foods and organic products canadas largest bulk food retailer more now 69 locations and growing franchise locations available in ontario and atlantic canada 905 8866756 oh wednesday seniors save 10 on their total shopping bill excluding specials mle uw last on xteftsal mms w reserve me right to inst quarates no dealers please markville mall 905 4757220 scarborough town centre 416 2960287 fairview mall 416 4987541 when this years grade 10 students will write it for the first time the home show with a difference october 25 26 27 markham fair grounds wwwroarkhamhomcshowcom pool tables 3550 off olhausen floor models seaway pools 27 heritage rd markham 2948030 kniiko ao quality value and selection lrf wwwbulkbarnca since 1932 s3