Timothy Wu (11) | Staff Reporter
All students in Ontario are required to take standardized tests administered by the EQAO, but what purpose do these assessments really serve?
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is an organization that oversees standardized testing in Ontario. These tests assess students’ skills in reading, writing, and math at key stages – Grade 3, Grade 6, Grade 9, and the OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test) in Grade 10. The goal is to measure how well students are meeting the provincial curriculum standards.
Writing the EQAO test involves multiple-choice questions, short answers, and written responses. The Grade 9 test, for example, focuses on math concepts learned throughout the year, while the OSSLT evaluates literacy skills through reading comprehension and writing tasks. While the tests don’t affect report card grades, the results help schools identify areas for improvement and provide insight into student learning trends across Ontario, and, in the case of the OSSLT, determine whether students meet the literacy requirement for graduation.
