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A motion to suspend Education Quality and Assurance Office (EQAO) tests in 2022 was unanimously supported at a Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) meeting Monday night.
According to school board trustee Kathleen Woodcock, who served the motion in December, many students are experiencing increased anxiety and depression due to the impact of the pandemic on the methods of delivery in education over the last two years.
“These mental health issues are felt deeply by our WRDSB families, all of whom are coping with the stresses of the pandemic as best they can,” Woodcock said.
EQAO is only done in specific grades. Prior to the pandemic, EQAO testing occurred in May for elementary schools and at various times during the school year in secondary schools.
According to the EQAO website, the tests provide results to each student who writes an assessment. Personalized reports help support individual student learning. The agency provides schools and school boards with detailed reports about their students’ achievement.
These data are used to improve school programming and classroom instruction. EQAO also reports the results publicly.
According to a report, the administration of the EQAO tests in 2022 is a responsibility for teachers and administrators at a time when education staff are burdened with adjusting to the impact of the pandemic on their mental and physical health.
The report also says that the pandemic has disproportionately affected marginalized students and families. As noted, “since EQAO testing was introduced in Ontario schools, the achievement gap has not been drastically reduced and instead has intensified for certain identities particularly impacting Indigenous, racialized, English Language Learners, recent immigrants, and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.”
Data collected in 2022 through EQAO, will be skewed, according to the report, due to the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic. Several teachers and principals in research note that, “Kids feel a lot of stress about EQAO tests anxiety about writing it.”
Currently, teachers continue to evaluate students using a variety of methods and assessment as well as formal report cards.
“Holding EQAO test for elementary students right now, is not trauma informed and adds a layer of stress on top of what many students, and families and staff have to address with the multiple waves of COVID-19,” according to Woodcock.
“A pause on EQAO testing will support student and staff well-being, provide a sense of relief and provide some burden reduction during these unstable times.
