EQAO

The Education Quality and Accountability Office, or EQAO, is an arm’s-length agency of the provincial government. Schools routinely consider EQAO data along with other information to support student success. Students in all publicly-funded schools in Ontario are required to write the provincial EQAO assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics in Grades 3 and 6, while students who take Grade 9 Applied or Academic Mathematics are required to write the provincial assessment at the end of their semester of study. The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) measures whether or not students are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9.

Due to the extraordinary circumstances facing the province, the Ministry of Education cancelled EQAO assessments at the Grade 3 and 6 level for the 2020–2021 school year. EQAO introduced a new adaptive online testing feature during 2020-2021, and as a result, the Grade 9 math assessment and the OSSLT were offered as an optional field-test option for schools. The successful completion of the Grade 10 Literacy Test, which is a requirement to obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, was waived for students eligible for graduation in June 2021.