Q&A: A reader’s guide to today’s test results

With the help of Pascal and the EQAO, The Star has prepared a user-friendly guide to the latest EQAO results.

What are the scores that come out today? They are the results of tests written last spring by Grades 3 and 6 in reading, writing and math, and by Grade 9 in math. Today the EQAO will post the results of all students across the province, as well as each public school board and each individual school.

Where can I find these scores? After 10 a.m. today, go to the EQAO website at www.eqao.com and you will see special pop-up menus to guide you to results for a particular school board and school and grade.

Does my child get a report of his or her own? Yes — on paper and soon. The EQAO will send schools an individual report for each child over the next seven days, to be sent home to families within a few weeks. Ask your child’s teacher when it’s due.

Does this go on my child’s report card? No. However the form will be kept on record at the school.

So why should I care? This test offers one more snapshot of how well your child is learning, beyond classroom work. It will show whether your child seems to be mastering all of the knowledge Queen’s Park expects in this grade — or most of the knowledge, or some, or not enough, and in which subject.

What should I do with this information? Discuss it with your child’s teacher, perhaps at the next parent-teacher meeting, and ask what you can do at home to promote improvement.

Where can I learn how my child’s school is doing? Go on the EQAO website and look up your school. You will find a 16page report that tracks test scores over the past three years and offers a demographic snapshot of the student body — how many children speak English as a second language, how long students have been in Canada, the gender split, how many have special learning needs other than being “gifted,” how many students have attended more than three schools since Grade 1, since lack of stability can pose a challenge to learning. The report also shows the distribution of skills in each subject tested — what percentage of children did not pass at all; what percentage scored a bare pass etc.

Can we see what the tests look like? Yes. Go to the website and click on “parent resources” to find a glossary of terms and “sample assessments.”

There are often two sets of scores shown, one for “all students” at a school and one for “participating students.” What’s the difference? Results for “all students” show the average score of all students in a school, including marks of “zero” given to those who didn’t write the test. So if a school has 100 students and 70 wrote the test and all 70 passed the provincial standard, this score would show as 70 per cent. The score for “participating students” counts the results of only those students who wrote the test. So if a school has 100 students and 70 wrote the test and all passed the provincial standard, this score would show as 100 per cent.

Where can I learn what our school is doing to improve scores? Each school board must post its improvement plan on the EQAO website under “improvement planning.” Moreover, every school is required to have a written blueprint for helping children do better. Ask your child’s teacher or principal to see your school’s plan.

Do schools take time away from class work to “drill for the test?” No, because the tests are based on the Ontario curriculum, so the only way to prepare for the test is to be doing regular curriculum-based class work.