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Ontario Minister of Education Paul Calandra visits students at École Catholique Pape-François in Stouffville, Ont., on May 2.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra says the government will release the results of the province’s standardized tests next week but refused to apologize for withholding the scores from the public.
Mr. Calandra on Monday said the results of the Education Quality and Accountability Office standardized tests, which are normally released in September or early October, will be sent to school boards this week under embargo and will be released broadly next week.
The Education Minister said he chose to withhold the results to analyze how the tests are working, and to further understand if funding directed toward math and literacy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is yielding results.
“I’m not going to apologize. I spent a lot of time looking at the results. The people of Ontario pay a lot of money for this standardized testing,” Mr. Calandra told reporters at Queen’s Park on Monday.
“I’ve heard from a lot of teachers. I spent a lot of time since April into the summer speaking to a lot of educators on this as to what they’re seeing. And I think we owed it to them to spend the time to look at it.”
The revelation that Mr. Calandra delayed the release of the scores prompted outcry from educators, experts and opposition politicians, who said the government is politicizing the results and refusing to be transparent about the school system.
The EQAO, an arm’s-length agency of the Ontario government, tests students in Grade 3 and Grade 6 in reading, math and writing every year. Grade 9 students are tested in math, and those in Grade 10 take a literacy test.
Ontario Education Minister says he is withholding EQAO test scores, prompting outcry
Asked on Monday if he’s satisfied that the tests are a useful tool, Mr. Calandra said there will be “more information to come on that next week.”
“It is part of why I want to take a really deep dive on what we were seeing,” he said.
But he added he is not looking at cancelling the tests altogether. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, which represents 84,000 teachers and educators, has called on the government to re-examine the practice of standardized testing, arguing that it is a flawed tool that does not accurately reflect student learning and achievement.
Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said she was glad to hear the EQAO data will be released shortly.
“As we’ve said, this data is an important planning tool, but it is only one part of a much bigger picture. Boards rely on it alongside classroom assessments, report card data, and teacher observations to understand how students are doing and where support is needed,” she said in a statement.
David Mastin, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said Mr. Calandra is disregarding the voices of front-line educators.
“Rather than doubling down on standardized testing, this moment should be used to re-examine the practice, invest in classroom-based assessments that capture the full scope of student learning, and redirect EQAO funding into classrooms where it can most effectively support student success,” he said in a statement.
Martha Hradowy, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said the delay has created “unnecessary uncertainty for families, staff and school boards.”
“If the minister has taken additional time to review the data, Ontarians deserve transparency about what prompted the delay and what the government learned from that review,” she said.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused the government of politicizing the EQAO and called it “very strange and suspicious that the Minister of Education would withhold those scores.”
“What’s he trying to hide?” she said.
Liberal MPP John Fraser, the party’s education critic, called the minister’s decision to withhold the scores one of “arrogance.”
“They’re looking for somebody to blame,” he said.
