EQAO

EQAO

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is an independent provincial agency funded by the Government of Ontario. EQAO’s mandate is to conduct province-wide tests at key points in every student’s education and report the results to educators, parents and the public. EQAO measures students achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to Ontario Curriculum expectations.

EQAO assesses students throughout their school career:

Grade 3 assessment of reading, writing and mathematics
Grade 6 assessment of reading, writing and mathematics
Grade 9 assessment of mathematics (all students working toward a credit in Grade 9 Academic or Applied Mathematics are required to participate)
Grade 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) – successful completion of the test is one of the requirements students must meet to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma

Understanding how EQAO assessments are used

EQAO distributes an individual report to each student who writes the tests, and posts school, school board and provincial results on its website. Schools and school boards also create their own reports of EQAO data for distribution to parents and others in their communities. Along with our schools, we create our own reports of EQAO data to distribute to parents and community members.

The assessment results add to the current knowledge about student learning, and serve as an important tool for improvement at the individual, school, school board and provincial levels. They can be used effectively to improve student learning through initiatives such as:

  • our education teams developing literacy and numeracy improvement plans
  • providing extra resources to meet the needs of students
  • giving parents tips and strategies to help their children at home

Things to remember about the Fraser Report

The Fraser Institute’s Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools uses grade 3 and grade 6 Education Quality & Accountability Office (EQAO) test results to calculate each school’s overall rating out of 10. As presented, the ratings in the report provide an incomplete and distorted picture of school effectiveness. Learn more 

Test dates

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)March 27, 2019
Grade 3 and 6 Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics (contact your school for the exact dates)May 21 to June 3, 2019
Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics (Applied and Academic)
Semester 1January 14 to 25, 2019
Semester 2 June 5 to 18, 2019