Large-scale Testing in Ontario
Large-scale, standards-based 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 fifteen years, the amount of testing in our schools has increased. This is largely because successive governments have viewed large-scale assessments as tools to monitor a few select variables.
EQAO Established
In 1996, the government established the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) to:
- design 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, validity of the tests, and uses of the data. This pressure narrows the curriculum and leads to disproportionate focus on literacy and numeracy at the expense of science, social studies, the arts, and physical education.
EQAO’s most recent annual report indicates expenses of $33 million in 2009-10. A further $77 million is spent by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat designing and mandating programs designed to improve test scores. And individual boards spend more. Think about what that money could do if it were spent on education instead:
- smaller classrooms;
- additional classroom materials;
- additional education assistants;
- more textbooks;
- new schools; or
- new classrooms.
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? Elementary teachers feel strongly that large-scale assessments such as the EQAO’s grade 3 and 6 tests 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.
- Multiple choice tests don’t accurately assess student knowledge, critical thinking ability, or many of the other skills and knowledge outlined in the provincial curriculum.
- 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 do little to provide real help to students, parents, or schools. The test results are never shared with the student, only the marks.
- Resources used to create, administer, and mark the tests would be better spent supporting students and teachers in the classroom.
- 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.
Helping Students Survive the EQAO Test
When 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.
There is a better way. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario is calling on the government to implement a moratorium on the EQAO tests for two years. During that time, ETFO is calling an independent review, including public consultations, on the most appropriate strategies and tools to measure student progress.
If you are concerned about EQAO testing and the impact of test results on education in Ontario, contact your MPP and your school board.