The literacy rate among Ontario’s Grade 10 students remained relatively unchanged this year.

Of the 170,000 students that took the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) in April, 84 per cent passed, down one per cent from the 2009 result.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) released the results of the spring assessments Wednesday. It noted that 88 per cent of the students who wrote the Grade 10 test this year also participated in the Grade 6 assessment. Among the nearly 41,000 kids who didn’t pass the elementary level test, 62 per cent managed to achieve success in Grade 10.

“Tracking the progress of students as they moved from Grade 6 to Grade 10 revealed a story of achievement for some and a tale of struggles for others, which should serve as a signal of what’s possible and of the need for the close tracking of struggling students,” EQAO board of directors chair Dr. Brian Desbiens said.

This tracking showed 84 per cent of the Grade 10 students who didn’t pass the literacy test this year were also unsuccessful in meeting the provincial reading and writing standard when they were in Grade 6.

This year’s EQAO results on a school-by-school level won’t be released until later this month.