2026-2027: Strengthening Literacy and Numeracy Through Critical Thinking
| School Learning Focus for the 2026–2027 school year | Strengthen students’ literacy and numeracy through accessible assessments that invite critical thinking, deeper reasoning, and multiple approaches, so more learners demonstrate Proficient and Extending understanding across subject areas and on the GLA and GNA. |
| Evidence-Informed Rationale (WHY) | Our 2026 assessment results show a strong foundation in literacy and a low proportion of students at Emerging. However, fewer students demonstrate Extending, particularly in GNA 10 and GLA 12. Numeracy results also identify opportunities to strengthen the application of strategies and execution of solutions. Staff began scanning the evidence at an Education Faculty meeting and a whole-staff meeting, examining school and department data alongside GLA and GNA results through “notice and wonder” discussions. These observations will guide a staff-driven inquiry into how assessments can make deeper thinking more visible. Student perspectives will be gathered as the inquiry develops. |
| Priority Learners | Our focus includes students currently demonstrating Proficient understanding who need opportunities to extend their reasoning, especially in Grade 10 numeracy and senior literacy. It also includes learners at Developing who need accessible entry points and scaffolding to progress toward Proficient. Classroom evidence will help departments identify specific learners and barriers to participation. |
| Baseline Data | GNA 10, April 2026 (108 students): 52.8% Proficient/Extending; 10.2% Extending compared with 23.8% district-wide (13.6 percentage-point gap); 42.6% Developing; 4.6% Emerging. Apply: 43.9%; Solve: 21.5%, compared with district scores of 54.8% and 33.6%. GLA 10, January 2026 (108 students): 76.84% Proficient/Extending; 12.03% Extending compared with 13.86% district-wide. GLA 12, January 2026 (97 students): 77.31% Proficient/Extending; 12.37% Extending compared with 33.58% district-wide (21.21 percentage-point gap). These session results establish our starting point; they do not represent a longitudinal comparison of the same learners. |
| Action Statement (HOW) | Scan and focus: Staff have explored assessment and departmental data collaboratively to identify strengths, questions, and areas for growth. Learn and take action: At the next meeting, staff from all departments will participate in a hands-on demonstration and collaborate to redesign a current assessment using low-floor, high-ceiling critical thinking questions. Tasks will offer an accessible starting point and scope for deeper analysis, justification, and transfer. Teachers will trial and refine redesigned assessments in their courses, shifting toward more opportunities to demonstrate thinking beyond recall and routine procedures. Departments will select tasks suited to their learners and review student responses together. Check and reflect: Our three action posts will document the initial inquiry, assessment redesign and implementation, and year-end evidence of impact. |
| Intended Impact (SO WHAT) | Students will have more opportunities to enter challenging tasks successfully and demonstrate depth of understanding. We expect stronger explanations, more purposeful use of evidence, and greater flexibility in applying strategies. Our goal is to increase the proportion achieving Extending in GLA and GNA while supporting learners at Developing to progress toward Proficient. Staff will build shared capacity to design assessments that reveal critical thinking across departments. |
| Evidence of Impact (HOW WE WILL KNOW) | Collect original and redesigned assessments to document changes in the thinking demanded and the opportunities for access and extension. Review student work using shared criteria for reasoning, evidence, and depth of understanding; gather learner reflections on challenge and access, alongside teacher observations. At year-end, compare available 2026–2027 GLA 10, GLA 12, and GNA 10 results with the baseline, including Extending percentages, Proficient/Extending totals, and district gaps. Record cohort sizes, participation, and session differences. Use classroom evidence alongside assessment results to judge progress; differences between cohorts alone will not establish that our actions caused the change. |
| Alignment Statement | This focus aligns with Richmond School District’s Strategic Plan 2026–2030, Strategic Priority 1, Success for All Learners, particularly Objective 1 on improving literacy and numeracy across the K–12 curriculum. Accessible entry points and opportunities for extension support learner growth. Our FESL work will use the Spiral of Inquiry to connect scanning and focusing with professional learning, classroom action, and checking impact. |