Ontario has released its Poverty Reduction Strategy 2015 Annual Report, featuring data from the Early Development Instrument.
The EDI is used as a key performance indicator for the Poverty Reduction Strategy , along with 10 other measures, including child poverty levels, birth weight, and high school graduation rates, among others.The report can be read in its entirety here.
The report shows EDI data from 2014-15, compared with previous collections from 2010-12 and 2007-09.
Overall, the percentage of children on track declined slightly from 72.4% in 2011-12 to 70.6% in 2014-15. But the overall percentage does not tell the whole story. As shown in the table below, Ontario kindergartners improved in Language and Cognitive Development and Communication Skills and General Knowledge, two developmental domains that are the most significant indicators of school readiness.
| Percentage of children vulnerable in one domain | 2007-09 | 2010-12 | 2014-15 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language and Cognitive Development | 8.9 | 7.6 | 6.7 |
| Communication Skills and General Knowledge | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.2 |
| Physical Health and Well-Being | 14 | 14.2 | 16.1 |
| Social Competence | 9.2 | 9.1 | 10.7 |
| Emotional Maturity | 10.4 | 10.1 | 12.3 |