Nicole Lalonde's Professional Portfolio
- EQAO
One of the ways that the Ministry of Education gages success in Ontario is by using the results of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (or EQAO). This is a standardized cumulative assessment that is given to all grade 3 and grade 6 students (with limited exceptions). All educators in Ontario, regardless of grade should be informed about the many aspects of the assessment in order to provide their students with the best opportunities for success. I have highlighted several important aspects of the EQAO assessment.
The Type of Assessment it Represents
The EQAO assessment is a performance-referenced test. It allows educators to measure the progress that students are making in meeting the expectations of the Ontario curriculum. The assessment measures cumulative knowledge that students have gained over 3 years, and is not limited to multiple choice answers.
Purpose for the Assessment
The purpose of the assessment is to measure student achievement against curriculum expectations. The collected as a result of the assessment is used to direct improvements at each level of the education system (provincial, board, school and individual). EQAO reports to the Minister, the public and the education community on assessment and education issues and makes recommendations for improvement.
Important Administration Procedures
Teachers should follow the section of their Administering Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary Division (Grades 1-3) and Junior Division (Grades 4-6) booklet entitled Section 4 Detailed Steps for Teachers which includes much of the following:
· Meet with the principal and staff administering the test to review dates and times, as well as procedures
· Arrange classroom so that student may work independently
· Ensure that students have all necessary materials
· Unused packages must not be opened
· Student assessment materials must not be removed from the classroom during the administration
· All instructional materials posted in the classroom must be covered (except "Key Words" and "Classroom Tips" available on the E.Q.A.O. website)
· ALL students must be supervised at ALL times
· No instruction may be given related to the content of the test, including concepts, vocabulary or terminology (this includes students with accommodations)
· During administration, nothing can be said to influence a student's responses or to encourage student's to alter their responses
· No one may read, review of correct a student's work
· Each section of the test must be completed in a continuous session (water breaks, washroom breaks and stretching is permitted)
· Students may not have access to booklets for review or to change responses once a section is completed and handed in
· At the end of each section, materials must be stored in a secure place without review
· All assessment materials used or un-used must be returned to E.Q.A.O.
· Student responses must not be copied in any way
· Any circumstances that may effect the scoring of a test, or that may have affected the validity of any student performance must be recorded and submitted to E.Q.A.O.
· Only those directly involved in the administration and testing activities should enter the room
Accommodations and Modifications for Children with Exceptionalities
- Modifications are not permitted, because they will affect the validity of and reliability of the assessment.
- Accommodations are made on an individual basis. If the student has an I.E.P. then accommodations should reflect those that are used for that student on a regular basis. These include adjustments to the setting, presentation format, response format, scribes and prompters.
- Students with special circumstances include those with a temporary condition that would not normally require accommodations, students new to a school, school board, province, or the country, that do not have an I.E.P. A principal may grant these students accommodations in accordance to the section "Accommodations for Students with Special Needs" found in the document "Guide for Accommodations, a Special Provision and Exceptions".
- ESL/ELD students are eligible for special provision as well as accommodations. These can include adjustments to the setting, as well as the presentation format (verbatim reading of instructions and/or questions for math and writing only), although this is not considered a special provision since the reading of instructions and/or questions for writing and math is permitted for all students that request it.
- Exemptions must occur is the student is unable to complete the assessment even with accommodations or special provisions. A student must be exempt from reading if the student has to read to by a teacher or another adult, from writing if the student has to be scribed for (they cannot write independently), and from mathematics if mathematics terms have to be defined. Exemption must be decided upon prior to the assessment.
Solutions to Challenges Presented by the E.Q.A.O Assessment for:
Students
- Given the fact that students may not take a break while completing a portion of the assessment, it is important that students are not asked to complete the entire assessment in one day or over too long of a period. Time spent on the assessment has been reduced to 6 hours in the primary and junior grades. These 6 hours are broken up over several days, giving students a chance to relax in between sections of the assessment.
- The grades 3 and 6 assessments will be covered later on in the school year to allow more of the curriculum to be covered.
- Although the time needed to complete the assessment has been shortened, students are still required to sit for long periods of time. Students writing EQAO are given extra time outside after sections of the test have been completed to distress.
- Students are provided with snacks before, during and after the administration of the test.
Teachers
- The name change that was introduced to include primary grades 1-3 and junior grades 4-6 will allow teachers in grades 1, 2, 4 and 5 to view themselves as a part of the preparation process for the assessment. This will alleviate some of the pressure on assessment grade teachers, because their colleagues will be more focused on assessment preparation as well. (This will also be beneficial to the students, because they will have continuous exposure to the terms, and skills teaching that will help them to successfully complete the assessment).
School as a Whole
- Announcements are held until later on in the day, and the intercom is strictly off limits for whole school announcements while students are writing EQAO.
- Teachers with split grade classes farm their students that are writing the assessment to other classroom that are also writing the assessment in order to provide a quiet and interruption free environment for those students.
- Educational Assistants, Special Education Resource Teachers and Literacy Coaches are pulled from their normal assignments in order to provide support (and supervision) to students writing EQAO.
- Students were offered an incentive to arrive on time on days of assessment. They were given a sticker if they arrived on time, and had to collect 5 stickers (there were 6 days of testing) in order to participate in a movie afternoon.
- Late students wrote their tests in a separate room so that they did not disturb students that were on time.
Strengths and Challenges of Large-Scale Assessment
Strengths:
The EQAO assessment is designed to measure the quality of education offered to students province-wide. Students' achievement is an indicator of the quality of education that they are receiving. Most importantly the data collected during the assessment is compiled and released to be used by all levels of the education process. Results indicate areas of strength and weakness in an individual's, school's, or board's programming. These results are used to inform decisions and improvement planning at all levels of the education system in Ontario.
Large-scale assessments (norm-referenced) work well for comparing groups of children, but should not be used to measure the knowledge of individual students.
Challenges:
Although this is not the case in Ontario, large-scale assessments are sometimes used to rank order individual students, and to make decisions (such as promoting or retaining students).
Large scale assessments are not a true representation of a student's knowledge. It is a paper and pencil test (some students are better able to express themselves orally). Factors such as mood, environment, and stress can affect the overall results on the assessment.
How Results Are Used Locally for Improvement Initiatives
There are 2 documents published by EQAO that outline the five key steps to the improvement planning process at the school, board and provincial level. The results of EQAO are published and available to the public. This creates a high level of accountability for the school board, school administrators, teacher, and students. The results of the assessment are also passed on to the Ministry of Education and analyzed.
The school where I currently hold a position had some of the lowest scores in reading, writing and mathematics for grades 3 and 6 three years ago. The ministry decided that our school would participate in the Turn Around Project, and allocated substantial funding to our primary division for professional development, as well as resources with a focus on literacy.
Representatives from the Ministry were present at all of our "Turn Around Days" to monitor our progress, offer suggestions, provide professional development and approve our school plan, including our spending plan. Our teachers were evaluated during classroom visits and given feedback about their teaching.
During the first year of the Turn Around Project, I held an LTO position in kindergarten, and was an active participant in the project. I signed on full time the next year for a grade 4 position. Although being a participant in the Turn Around Project was extremely stressful (and a little overwhelming for a new teacher), it was very beneficial to me as an educator. I was immersed in literacy training and research, which I was able to use in my grade 4 class, as well as during my Reading Part 2 and Reading Part 3 courses, and I am very grateful to have been able to participate so actively in our school improvement plan.
Suggestions to Improve Effectiveness of Administration of the Test
I have spoken to a few colleagues that were involved in administering the assessment over the last couple of years, and they have stated that new implementations have improved the overall administration of the assessment. (Less time spent writing for primary and junior grades, and writing over a period of several days has improved student?s willingness to complete each section to the best of their ability). There is not much wiggle room in the guidelines to change how the test is administered presently. These teachers have said that they just try to make the assessment writing as painless as possible for their students by providing snacks, allowing regular water, washroom and stretch breaks, and rewarding them for their diligence at the end of the assessment periods.
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