Local results now available for Ontario's Grade 9 math test. EQAO urges schools to intersect different types of data to evaluate and improve their programs.

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2015 /CNW/ - School- and board-level results on the province-wide Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics are now available at www.eqao.com for all participating schools and boards.

EQAO results are an annual, objective and publicly available indicator of student achievement in Ontario's publicly funded schools.

EQAO provides schools and boards with a wide range of data about their students' achievement, attitudes, behaviours and demographics. By intersecting different types of data, schools gain rich insights to help evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and inform their improvement-planning efforts.

As one exercise, EQAO recommends that all schools and boards look at the data of those students who did not meet the provincial standard on the Grade 9 math assessment and ask key questions about these students' confidence in math and their ability to see real-world applications.

Provincial-level results for the English-language school system are not available this year because not all schools in that system participated in the test due to labour action.

QUICK FACTS

• EQAO makes available to all schools and school boards an interactive online reporting application, in which it is easy to intersect various types of data from the provincial assessments, questionnaires and administrative records.
• EQAO achievement data show which students are and are not meeting the provincial standard. Intersecting attitudinal or demographic data with achievement results can offer insights into why certain students may be excelling or struggling.
• Research shows that students' confidence in math and their ability to see real-world applications are positively related to achievement. Intersecting achievement, attitudinal and contextual data may reveal insights that can bring focus to schools' improvement-planning efforts.

QUOTES

"The value of EQAO results goes well beyond the public accountability that they offer the publicly funded school system with regards to student achievement. EQAO results are an additional source of reliable information that support the work of all those charged with the education of our children."
—Dave Cooke, Chair, EQAO

"A thorough evaluation of student achievement requires the review of many sources of data. The information provided by EQAO allows schools and boards to have richer discussions about their programs and practices, all with an eye to improving them to better meet their students' needs."
—Bruce Rodrigues, CEO, EQAO     

LEARN MORE

• Infographic—Improvement Planning: 3 Questions Schools Can Ask When Analyzing Their 2015 Data

 

• EQAO School Story: Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School (Hanmer), 2015

 

• EQAO School Story: Bur Oak Secondary School (Markham), 2015

 

• EQAO School Story: Centre Hastings Secondary School (Madoc), 2015

 

• EQAO School Story: St. Edmund Campion Secondary School (Brampton), 2015

 

• EQAO School Story: St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School (Toronto), 2015

 

• EQAO School Story: St. Paul Catholic Secondary School (Trenton), 2015

 

• EQAO School Story: St. Stephen Catholic Secondary School (Bowmanville), 2015

 

• EQAO Research Bulletin: Factors That Are Related to Student Achievement on the EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics

 

• EQAO Research Report: An Analysis of Questionnaire and Contextual Data for Grade 9 Students in the Academic and Applied Mathematics Courses

Aussi disponible en français

About EQAO

EQAO is an independent agency that creates and administers large-scale assessments to measure Ontario students' achievement in reading, writing and math at key stages of their education. All EQAO assessments are developed by Ontario educators to align with The Ontario Curriculum. The assessments evaluate student achievement objectively and in relation to a common provincial standard. EQAO is undertaking a multi-year project to move the provincial assessments online.

SOURCE Education Quality and Accountability Office

Media Contact: Angele Dufresne, Communications Officer, 416-314-4327, [email protected]