Ontario to review learning, testing after ‘insufficient progress’ in EQAO results: Calandra

Education Minister Paul Calandra discusses findings of EQAO testing after the province delayed sharing the test results.

Education Minister Paul Calandra says he is appointing an expert advisory body to lead a “thorough review” of how Ontario supports student learning following disappointing standardized test results for students and to also examine the province’s standardized testing.

“The results show that despite improvements, as we continue to implement a back-to-basics approach, there have been inadequate progress in reading, writing and especially math,” Calandra said. “Half of Grade Six students and 42 per cent of Grade Nine students are not meeting the provincial standard in math.”

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) released the latest student test results Wednesday after Calandra delayed the results, which were expected to be released earlier in the fall.

While the results showed slight improvements in some areas, they were little changed from the previous two school years.

Calandra said he held back the results because he wanted to do a “deep dive” into the results.

The education minister said he doesn’t think scrapping the EQAO tests is the best option but “there is room for improvement.”

“I think a form of testing, standardized testing, is important,” he said, but added that the results should come “sooner and more often.”

Asked why the government needs to turn to two outsiders instead of making use of ministry staff, Calandra said “if we were doing it right, then we wouldn’t have 50 per cent of our students not meeting provincial benchmarks.”

He said the review will be “as much a review of how the ministry is preparing our teachers, the resources that we’re giving our teachers, the resources that we’re giving parents.”

“I want to go outside of my ministry, because asking the people who have been in charge for the last 50 or 60 years to review themselves doesn’t necessarily come up with the best answers.”

He said among other things, the panel will examine why student outcomes are not improving faster, how well teachers are being prepared and supported, whether EQAO tests align with what students are being taught and are fair for all students, and whether current supports for students with special needs and those who are struggling are working.

Calandra tied the disappointing results with “dysfunctional trustee performance” but said potential legislation to modify the role of trustees will not be coming before the government breaks for the holidays.

Teachers skeptical of outside panel

In a statement, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) renewed their call for the EQAO tests to be scrapped.

“Educators are struggling with large class sizes, increasing workloads, and rising violence in schools, yet the Ford government remains incomprehensibly fixated on meaningless EQAO results,” ETFO President David Mastin said in the statement.

In an interview with CTV Toronto, Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) President René Jansen in de Wal cautioned that outsiders may not be well-positioned to provide guidance to teachers.

“When you have such a small group, I would certainly think that a slightly larger group that involved collaboration, consultation with parents, teachers, etc, would be important,” Jansen in de Wal said.

“What we don’t need is other outside experts, again trying to tell teachers as if they aren’t professionals with experience, what should be happening in their classroom, because those people are often too far removed.”

Opposition says results too late and solution flawed

Liberal MPP John Fraser slammed the government for holding back the results Wednesday.

“There was no good reason to hold this information back. If we are going to put students, parents, and educators through EQAO, the least they deserve is timely results,” Fraser said.

The results released by EQAO Wednesday reflect tests conducted during the 2024-25 school year.

“Families lost two months they could have spent getting their children the help they needed. If a Grade 9 student struggled in math in June, their parents and their school should have known in the fall, not halfway through the school year.”

Fraser called the review panel a “delay tactic” and said the $1,500 a day the government plans to pay each of the two advisers would be better spent on students.

Speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park Wednesday, NDP Leader Marit Stiles blamed government underfunding of education for a lack of student progress.

“What has that resulted in? Classes that are over-full, kids that are not getting the supports they need in the classrooms, and the EQAO results are indicative of that. And what is this minister’s solution? To hire a couple more conservative insiders at $1,500 a day,” Stiles said.

She said any expert panels to fix education should be led by education experts.

Calandra said the appointees who will lead the review will be announced in the new year.