The province has released the results of its latest standardized testing and they show young children are continuing to struggle with math.
Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office tests for math and literacy skills in grades three, six and nine.
The 2017-2018 results show a decrease in the number of third graders who meet the provincial standard. It was only 61 percent, compared to 67 percent in 2014.
Fewer sixth graders met the standard as well; 49 percent, down from 54 percent.
By ninth grade, things appear to improve but only for students in academic level courses. 84 percent of those students met the standard compared to only 49 percent in the applied stream.
Executive Director of People for Education, Annie Kidder, says it's hard to pinpoint why younger children are struggling. "The general thinking is that there are a lot of different aspects that go into that," Kidder says, citing things like overall attitudes towards math and teacher education. She also mentions other skills like perseverance and the students' ability to ask for help when they are struggling.
Kidder also points out that the provincial standard equates to a "B" grade, "so it's not that all these kids are failing math but they're certainly not meeting the standard."
EQAO results for individual school boards are expected to be released in a few weeks.