When Children Succeed

An evaluation of one and a half years of strategic intervention to close the achievement gap

By Derek J. Gaudet, M.A.

This is an evaluation of the 2018-2020 attempt to close the achievement gap in Saint John priority schools. The program involved adding additional teaching staff to lower the student to teacher ratio. Priority school students in kindergarten and grade 1 were tracked over a year and a half of the program and their proficiency in literacy and numeracy was compared to that of students from non-priority schools. The results of the evaluation suggest that there was some evidence of fully closed or narrowed achievement gaps, particularly in the kindergarten cohort. Literacy and numeracy benchmarks, as well as the role of attendance in student success, was also examined within the priority schools. Limitations and suggestions for future work are also discussed.