Teachers Call for End of Standardized Testing in Ontario Schools

September 17, 2008

Standardized testing wastes precious classroom time and scarce resources at a time when elementary education in Ontario is seriously underfunded, charges the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

“The money allocated to create, administer, and mark the tests would be better spent supporting students and teachers in the classroom,” said ETFO President David Clegg.

Clegg was commenting on the test scores released today by the provincial Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).

“The McGuinty government refuses to make a commitment to close the gap in funding between elementary and secondary students. Yet it continues to spend millions of dollars every year on tests that provide questionable benefits for student learning.”

The government’s own figures show that it provides $711 less for each elementary student than for each secondary student. “This means our elementary students are not getting the assistance and support they need to reach their potential in school and later in life,” said Clegg.

“Now is the time to end standardized testing in Ontario. It is a wasteful and unnecessary initiative,” Clegg said.  “While the ranking of students and schools meets the political needs of governments and is very useful to the real estate industry, it is not that meaningful for students and teachers.

“A conversation with their child’s teacher, not scores on provincial tests, is the best report card on student achievement parents can get.” 

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario represents 73,000 elementary public school teachers and education workers across the province and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.