Elementary and Secondary

There are four publicly-funded school boards serving Ottawa: English public, English Catholic, French public and French Catholic.

It is important to note that the service area of the two French boards extends well beyond Ottawa into Eastern Ontario. For schools within the City of Ottawa, the English school boards account for 80% of public school student enrollment at the elementary level and 86% at the secondary level. Meanwhile, French school boards in Ottawa decreased from 20% of the total elementary enrollment to 14% of the total secondary enrollment.

In 2017-2018, 85% of grade 6 Ottawa public school students met the provincial standard for reading, and 60% for math. This is 4% higher for reading and 10% higher for math than the Ontario averages.

In terms of two factors that can have an influence on learning — students whose mother tongue is different from the language of instruction and students with special education needs — at the grade 6 level, proportions in Ottawa’s public schools are similar to those province-wide.

It is important to recognize that many other factors can influence the overall performance of a student population. In addition, the grade 6 tests are a limited snapshot of performance, and results can vary quite significantly over time.

Based on 2017-2018 scores for grade 9 academic math and grade 10 literacy testing, Ottawa’s public school population has remained ahead of the province as a whole in proportions of students meeting provincial standards.

In relation to the grade 9 applied math test, Ottawa students were slightly above the provincial level, with 50% meeting the provincial standard. Academic math performance in Ottawa’s grade 9 students is also higher than the provincial average at 89%.

The proportion of grade 10 public school students in Ottawa whose mother tongue is not the language of instruction is notably higher than the provincial average, whereas the proportion who have special education needs is slightly higher.

Across Ontario, the percentage of elementary schools with full-time or part-time music teachers has been declining for the past decade and is currently at 43%. On the other hand, more schools report having health and physical education teachers, social workers, and child and youth workers. At the same time, however, the case load of special education teachers has been growing.

Ontario EcoSchools is an education and certification program that helps school communities responsibly reduce the environmental footprint of schools. Across all four of Ottawa’s school boards, 33% are certified EcoSchools.

Many other factors affect school performance, school enjoyment, and success in preparing children for fulfilling lives. One that may be surprising is that children who use active modes of transportation to school report more positive emotions in school. Not surprisingly, living closer to school increases the likelihood of walking or wheeling to school.