MEASURES
INDICATORS AND OUTCOMES
An important part of our Poverty Reduction Strategy is setting targets and reporting on our progress. We recognize that if you want to improve something, it must first be measured. Measuring progress will help us understand where progress is being made and inform decision-making.
About the indicators
Poverty reduction is a complex undertaking that requires a broad, multi-faceted approach over time. Measuring improvement similarly requires a comprehensive set of indicators against which to measure progress.
A set of eight indicators was selected during the strategy development process which, when taken together, provide a reliable measure of the Poverty Reduction Strategy's impact. These eight indicators cover key aspects such as income levels, education, health, housing and standard of living. Our eight indicators are:
- School Readiness
- High School Graduation Rates
- Educational Progress
- Birth Weights
- Low Income Measure (LIM)
- Depth of Poverty
- Standard of Living
- Ontario Housing Measure
Statistics Canada data for our income-based indicators lags by 18 months. That means this progress report is the first time we are able to report on the impact of our investments on our Low Income Measure, Depth of Poverty, Standard of Living and Ontario Housing Measure indicators – and this is only for the year 2009, the first year of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Indicator 1: School Readiness
Children have a better chance to succeed as students when they come to school ready to learn. They need to be healthy. They need social and emotional competencies. They need language, thinking and communications skills, and the general knowledge to participate in and benefit from their educational experiences. This indicator is based on the Early Development Instrument, a population-based measure of children's readiness to learn at school, taken from a representative sample of children from across the province.
Administered in Senior Kindergarten, it measures children's readiness to learn at school in five areas: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and general knowledge and communication skills.
As reported in previous annual progress reports, between 2007–09, 71.5 per cent of children surveyed showed no vulnerabilities. This means that most children in Ontario are doing well, but there are some who are vulnerable to poorer outcomes and who may need additional supports to learn at school.
The data supports the view that children who attended Junior Kindergarten are more ready for school than children who did not attend Junior Kindergarten. The data is gathered from one-third of Ontario school boards each year. As a result, it takes three years to cover the province. The 2007–09 data represents our baseline; the next cycle for reporting will be 2010–2012.
Indicator 2: High School Graduation Rates
In our knowledge- and skills-based economy, graduating from high school is more important than ever before. Young people with a secondary school diploma have improved chances for a better job and more earning power throughout their lives.
This indicator represents the percentage of high school students who have earned an Ontario Secondary School Diploma in each graduating year. Ontario's graduation rate measures the percentage of a cohort of students who graduate within five years of having started Grade 9.
In the 2009–10 school year, the high school graduation rate in Ontario increased to 81 per cent from 79 per cent in the 2008–09 school year. The graduation rate has increased 13 percentage points since 2003–04. This means that since 2003–04, approximately 72,000 more students graduated who would not have otherwise, had the rates remained at the 2003–04 level.
Graduation Rates in Ontario
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education.
Indicator 3: Educational Progress
Provincewide assessment is one important measure of children's progress in literacy and numeracy, and enables us to pinpoint areas for improvement and to target support to where it is needed most. This measure provides critically important information on planning for student learning and achievement.
This indicator is based on the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) provincial assessment of student achievement as measured against the learning expectations in Ontario's curriculum. It reflects the overall results on the Grades 3 and 6 reading, writing and math assessments.
In 2010–11, 69 per cent of Grade 3 and Grade 6 students are meeting or exceeding the provincial standard on EQAO assessments. This is up from our 2008–09 baseline of 67 per cent and represents a 15 percentage point increase since 2002–03. This indicates more students have the reading, writing and math skills that will lead to success in high school, postsecondary education and the workforce.
Percentage of Grade 3 and 6 Students Achieving Provincial
Standard of Level 3 or Higher in Reading, Writing and Math
(English and French-Language Schools)
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education based on EQAO data.
For the 2010–11 assessment year, 65 per cent of the Grade 3 students in reading, 74 per cent in writing, and 69 per cent in math were at or above the provincial standard on EQAO assessments. It should be noted that the provincial standard is a Level 3 or approximately a "B" grade.
For the 2010–11 assessment year, 74 per cent of the Grade 6 students in reading, 73 per cent in writing and 59 per cent in math were at or above the provincial standard on EQAO assessments.
Compared with the results of eight years ago, over 52,500 additional Grade 3 and Grade 6 students are meeting or exceeding the provincial standard in reading, writing and math.
Since 2003, the government has reduced class sizes in the primary grades, increased teacher professional learning and raised the graduation rate. Across Ontario, 400 new, publicly funded schools have been built and another 170 are planned or underway. As of September 2011, nearly 800 schools are offering the Full-Day Kindergarten Program, benefiting 50,000 kids. The program will be fully implemented in 2014, benefiting approximately 250,000 children.
Students who achieve early success in school are more likely to perform well later in school and go on to postsecondary education. This ensures that Ontario will have the skilled workforce to compete in the global economy.
Percentage of Grade 3 Students Achieving Provincial Standard of Level 3 or
Higher in Reading, Writing and Math (English and French-Language Schools)
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education based on EQAO data.
Percentage of Grade 6 Students Achieving Provincial Standard of Level 3 or
Higher in Reading, Writing and Math (English and French-Language Schools)
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education based on EQAO data.
Indicator 4: Birth Weights
Healthy children have more opportunity to succeed in virtually every aspect of life from early childhood to adulthood.
This indicator represents the percentage of newborns born at a healthy weight for their gestational age. Research indicates that babies born to low-income families more often have below normal birth weights, which can put them at a higher risk for poor future health outcomes. In 2007–09, 80 per cent of Ontario-born babies were born at a healthy weight3.
This represents our baseline for future reporting and will be updated in 2012.
Indicator 5: Low Income Measure
The Poverty Reduction Strategy uses Statistics Canada's Low Income Measure (LIM50) fixed to a base year of 2008 to assess progress in reducing child poverty. The LIM50 is defined as the percentage of children under 18 living in a household with an income less than 50 per cent of the median adjusted household income. For 2009, the LIM50 lines are determined by applying the Canada Consumer Price Index inflation rate to the base year LIMs. The lines for 2008 and 2009 are presented below. For 2009, the LIM50 line for a single parent with one child was $26,348 and for a two-parent, two-child household was $37,262.
Fixed Low Income Measure Lines (LIM50)
| Household Size | 2008 | 2009 |
| 1 person | $18,582 | $18,631 |
| 2 persons | $26,279 | $26,348 |
| 3 persons | $32,185 | $32,270 |
| 4 persons | $37,164 | $37,262 |
| 5 persons | $41,551 | $41,660 |
| 6 persons | $45,516 | $45,636 |
In 2009, 14.6 per cent of all children in Ontario were below LIM50, down from 15.2 per cent in 2008. The number of children below the LIM50 was 392,000 in 2009, down 20,000 from 412,000 in 20084.
The goal of the Poverty Reduction Strategy is to reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over five years. In 2009, a recession year and the first year of implementation, the Poverty Reduction Strategy lifted 20,000 children out of poverty and moved us closer toward our goal.
Government transfers have an immediate and direct impact on poverty. The two programs having the largest impact on poverty in 2009 were the Ontario Child Benefit and Employment Insurance benefits. The average amount of provincial children's benefits (which includes the Ontario Child Benefit and the Ontario Child Care Supplement) going to the poorest fifth of Ontario households with children increased by $800 from 2008 to 2009. This was due to the introduction of monthly Ontario Child Benefit payments in 2008 and its accelerated phase-in in 2009. Average employment insurance benefits to the poorest fifth of Ontario households with children also increased by about $800 in 2009.
Per cent of Ontario Children Below LIM50
Source: Ontario Ministry of Finance based on Statistics Canada, Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
3 Source: BORN ONTARIO (Niday Perinatal Database)
4 Under Statistics Canada's methodology for calculating the LIM, the number of kids in poverty would have been 393,000 versus 392,000. The result would be 19,000 kids lifted out of poverty versus 20,000 kids under Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy LIM methodology.
Indicator 6: Depth of Poverty
Some families living in deep poverty face severe challenges breaking the cycle of poverty and building better futures for their children. The depth of poverty indicator tells us how Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy is improving the well-being of those living in deep poverty in our society.
This indicator is based on the Low Income Measure (LIM40) fixed to a base year of 2008. This represents the percentage of children under 18 living in a household with an income less than 40 per cent of the median adjusted household income in 2008. For 2009, the LIM40 thresholds are determined by applying the Consumer Price Index inflation rate to the 2008 lines. Based on this measure, 196,000 children or 7.3 per cent of all children in Ontario were in deep poverty in 2009, down from 230,000 or 8.5 per cent in 2008. From 2008 to 2009, 34,000 children were lifted out of deep poverty.
Depth of Proverty Measure:
Per cent of Ontario Children Below LIM40
Source: Ontario Ministry of Finance based on Statistics Canada, Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
Indicator 7: Standard of Living
Income-based indicators are one set of tools used to assess the well-being of Ontario families and measure the number of poor children in the province. They are indirect measures of poverty based on the assumption that families that do not have sufficient income cannot afford to purchase some basic necessities. This assumption may not always be a valid one because there are in-kind services such as rent and child care subsidies that help raise the standard of living of some low-income families higher than is suggested by their incomes. On the other hand, the high cost of living in certain areas of the province, or special circumstances that some families face such as disabilities requiring extra expenses, may mean that an income above the poverty line is not enough to keep the family out of poverty.
The Ontario Deprivation Index is a measure of poverty that avoids these problems by asking families directly whether they can afford certain necessities that most Ontario families can afford and take for granted. It reflects the real life experiences of low-income Ontarians and captures dimensions of poverty that income alone does not – social exclusion, for example.
This indicator is a measure developed for the Poverty Reduction Strategy by the Caledon Institute and the Daily Bread Food Bank, in partnership with Statistics Canada and the Ontario government. The Ontario Deprivation Index measure identifies a family as being deprived if it cannot afford two or more items out of a list of 105. For example, the index includes questions such as, "Are you able to get dental care if needed?" and "Do you eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day?"
In 2009, 8.7 per cent of children were in Ontario households that lacked two or more items. This is down substantially from 12.5 per cent in 2008. The indicator is moving in the same direction as the two income based LIM measures, suggesting that the Poverty Reduction Strategy is having a real impact on the lives of children from low-income circumstances in Ontario.
It should be noted that the deprivation questions were moved from a Labour Force Survey supplement for the 2008 data to the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics for 2009, however the questions remained the same6.
5 For more information, please see "Developing a Deprivation Index: The Research Process," available at www.dailybread.ca and www.caledoninst.org.
6 For the first year (2008), the deprivation questions were a supplement to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS supplement had a number of limitations as a vehicle for the deprivation questions; in particular income information is based on survey respondent's retrospective estimate rather than tax filer information. The questions are now part of the main income survey, Survey of Labour Income Dynamics, or SLID. The SLID provides reliable income results, before and after tax and by source and much richer socio-demographic detail. The SLID is also a longitudinal survey so there is a potential to better understand the dynamics of deprivation and poverty.
Indicator 8: Ontario Housing Measure
Children have better chances to thrive and grow — emotionally, mentally and academically — when they live in safe, stable housing. This measure tells us how many low-income households with children have housing costs that are disproportionately high relative to household income, which can affect children's ability to thrive and grow even in a supportive environment.
The Ontario Housing Measure lays out the percentage of households with children under 18 that have incomes below 40 per cent of the median household income (LIM40) and spend more than 40 per cent of their income on housing.
In 2009, the percentage of children under 18, living in households with incomes below 40 per cent of the LIM40, declined from 5.4 per cent in 2008 to 5.0 per cent.
Ontario Housing Measure
Percentage of Households
Number of Households
Source: Statistics Canada
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The Child and Youth Opportunity Wheel
The Child and Youth Opportunity Wheel provides a visual summary of improvements over time in each of the eight indicators. The inside circle represents the baseline data starting at 2008 on all indicators. Spokes going out from the centre measure progress for each year. Where a spoke extends outwards past the inner circle, this means outcomes have improved. The further the spoke is from the circle, the larger the improvement. If a spoke falls inside the circle, outcomes have deteriorated.
| Notes: | * | Reported on a three-year cycle. The next cycle for reporting will be in 2012. |
| ** | Educational Progress (EQAO) scores for 2010-11 were released in Summer 2011. Other 2010-11 data will be available in 2012. | |
| *** | There was a change in surveys that carry the deprivation questions, which may have had an effect on the results. | |
| Caution should be exercised when interpreting the change between years. |
Source: Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services
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Download and read Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy.