Ontario’s elementary school students continue to improve their reading and writing skills, but a decline in mathematical ability isn’t stopping either.

Female students also remain better performers in the classroom than male students in both Grade 3 and Grade 6.

Those are just some of the findings in this year’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test results, which were made public Wednesday.

Here’s a look at highlights of the results from local school boards.

Waterloo Region District School Board

Students at the Waterloo Region District School Board continue to lag behind their peers across the province.

While Grade 3 students across Ontario met or exceeded provincial standards for reading, writing and mathematics 68, 77 and 67 per cent of the time respectively, WRDSB students did the same in only 61, 68 and 59 per cent of cases.

However, increases in reading and writing skills and decreases in math abilities over the past five years appear to reflect similar increases and decreases across the province.

Grade 6 students in the WRDSB came closer to the provincial average, but ultimately remained below-average in all three categories.

Waterloo Catholic District School Board

In both Grade 3 and Grade 6, Waterloo Catholic District School Board students were close to provincial averages, although declines in math remain more pronounced.

Among Grade 3 students, 67 per cent met or surpassed provincial standards in math – equal to the provincial average, but down from 73 per cent in 2008-09, when the Ontario-wide number sat at 70 per cent.

A similar story has played out in Grade 6, where the percentage of students meeting or exceeding provincial standards has fallen from 64 per cent to 54 per cent in the past five years – over which time the Ontario average, in comparison, has fallen from 63 per cent to 57 per cent.

Upper Grand District School Board

Over the past five years, Upper Grand District School Board results have stuck close to provincial averages, with a handful of exceptions.

One of the most noticeable such exceptions is in Grade 6 math, where only 52 per cent of students met or exceeded provincial targets, compared to 57 per cent across the province.

Those numbers have both decreased steadily since 2008-09, when the provincial average of 63 per cent wasn’t that much higher than the UGDSB figure out 61 per cent.

While the writing skills of Grade 6 students in the UGDSB have improved over the same time period – from 66 per cent meeting or surpassing the standard to 70 per cent – the provincial average has climbed faster, from 67 per cent to 76 per cent.

Wellington Catholic District School Board

Students at the Wellington Catholic District School Board exceed provincial averages across subjects and grade levels.

Grade 3 students in the WCDSB met or exceeded provincial standards 70, 79 and 72 per cent of the time in reading, writing and math respectively, compared to provincial averages of 68, 77 and 67 per cent.

It was the same story in Grade 6, where WCDSB students met or surpassed standards in the same subjects 79, 79 and 66 per cent of the time – higher than Ontario averages of 77, 76 and 57 per cent.

Despite the high performance relative to other local school boards and Ontario at large, Grade 3 students in the WCDSB did see writing and math skills drop slightly from the previous year.

Grade 6 students, on the other hand, saw big, positive jumps in reading and writing results after decreases in 2011-12.

Grand Erie District School Board

Grand Erie District School Board students continue to lag well behind provincial averages in all subjects, with the most significant concern in Grade 6 math.

Only 47 per cent of GEDSB students met or exceeded the provincial target in that area, compared to an Ontario-wide average of 57 per cent.

However, the number of students doing well in that area did rise while the provincial average fell, as GEDSB students continued to climb past a low-water mark of 43 per cent in 2010-11.

The number of Grade 6 students in the GEDSB meeting or exceeding provincial targets in reading dropped from 70 per cent in 2011-12 to 68 per cent, while the provincial average rose from 75 per cent to 77 per cent.

In Grade 3, student performance improved in all three subjects but remained well behind Ontario averages.

Avon Maitland District School Board

Grade 6 students in the Avon Maitland District School Board saw big improvements in their results in reading and writing, but Grade 3 students went in the opposite direction.

Reading and writing results for Grade 6 students rose from 72 and 67 per cent of students meeting or exceeding provincial standards in the respective subjects in 2011-12 to 78 and 72 per cent doing so in 2012-13.

Among Grade 3 students, 61 and 66 per cent of students met or surpassed provincial standards – down from 65 and 71 per cent in 2011-12.