EQAO Testing

Standardized Testing in Ontario

Standardized testing is not new for students. For many years, elementary and secondary students have taken part in testing at all levels – provincially, nationally and internationally. Over the past ten years, the amount of testing in our schools has increased. This is largely because successive governments have viewed standardized tests as tools to monitor a few select variables.

EQAO Established

In 1996, the government established the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) to:

• accomplish its mandate of designing new tests for grades 3, 6, 9, 10 in reading, writing and mathematics;
• manage the administration of these tests;
• report the results to the public; and
• collect data to help determine the effectiveness of Ontario’s education system.

Since its creation, the EQAO has faced a great deal of criticism, particularly on the issues of security, timelines, and validity of the tests. As well, the EQAO’s most recent annual report indicates expenses of $35.7 million in 2005. If that money were spent on education instead of standardized testing, it could provide one of the following:

• Eight hundred new teachers;
• $500 in classroom materials for each of the 70,000 public elementary teachers in;
• An additional education assistant for 1,170 elementary schools in.
• A mathematics textbook for 875,000 students;
• Funding to build six new schools; or
• Funding to build 180 new classrooms to house 3,600 students.

Teachers Know Students Best

When it comes to assessing the learning of the whole child, teachers know best. Teachers know that classroom assessments are at the heart of good teaching and student learning. Classroom assessments are invaluable because they:

• Support student learning;
• Assess the whole child;
• Measure a variety and levels of skills;
• Determine student progress;
• Take into account contextual factors that may affect results;
• Are appropriate and responsive to student learning needs; and
• Incorporate authentic forms of assessment that are aligned with the curriculum.

Standardized Tests Don’t Ensure Accountability

Parents want to know how their children are doing at school. Do the EQAO tests help? ’s elementary teachers feel strongly that standardized tests such as the EQAO’s grade 3 and 6 assessments do not give parents a true picture of their child’s progress. This is because:

• During the tests, students cannot interact with their teachers or other students. This is not a normal classroom experience.
• Students are often confused and experience a great deal of stress due to the rigorous schedule and abnormal classroom environment. The tests therefore cannot be a realistic measure of a child’s overall achievement.
• Multiple choice tests don’t accurately assess student knowledge, critical thinking ability, or many of the skills and knowledge outlined in the provincial curriculum.
• The tests are only part of the answer among a broad range of indicators.
• The tests don’t assess the whole child or the whole curriculum.
• The tests provide only one assessment; good program decisions require many assessments.
• Test data are subject to misuse and misinterpretation.
• Test data do little to provide real help to students, parents, or schools.
• Resources used to create, administer, and mark the tests would be better spent supporting students and teachers in the classroom.
• A small number of exceptionally high or low individual results can have a big impact on a school’s overall results.
• School boards release the school scores to the media. This results in schools being ranked without important background information about factors contributing to the results.
• Since the tests were first administered in 1997, both the test design and marking procedures have changed. It is therefore difficult to make comparisons from year to year.

Helping Students Survive the EQAO Test

As a parent of a grade 3 or grade 6 student, you may choose to withdraw your child from the provincial achievement tests. You can do this by simply writing to the school principal.

However, if you choose to have your children write the tests, help them cope with the process by telling them to relax and just do the best they can. The test isn’t about their progress; it’s about the education system.  If your children are worried about the test, talk to their teachers.

Much more important than how children do on tests is how they learn. You can help your children learn by:

• Listening to them talk about school and about what they have learned.
• Taking advantage of opportunities to talk to your children’s teachers about their day-to-day learning and about their progress.
• Reminding your children that what they learn and how they feel about school are the most important things.
• Being interested in what they care about, in their school, in their progress, and in their security. Read with them, play with them, and learn with them.