Reflecting back on my elementary school years, I began to reminisce about the very first provincial test I completed. I remember this bittersweet feeling that arose when my teacher explained that our third grade class had to complete a provincial-wide test. I couldn’t quite figure out whether I was breaking out in a sweat because of the simple word test, or perhaps for some other reason.
This test, my teacher said, was conducted by the Education Quality and Accountability Office, which is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The EQAO is used to identify trends in student learning, to indicate how a child learns and perceives information, and to strengthen the accountability of the public school system in Ontario. The test is given to students in grades 3, 6, and 9. It demonstrates the student’s skills regarding reading, writing and mathematical skills. It gives the child a chance to show the knowledge that they have learned throughout the previous years of school. EQAO is graded on a basis of four levels. Level 3 is denoted as the provincial standard and level 4 is above this. If your achievement level is below level 3, than you are seen as “below the academic average of students.”
Is this standardized test showing accurate trends in the student’s ability? Are the trends skewed due to possible confounding variables that are not controlled for? Recently, teachers have been debating with the Ontario agency to stop the EQAO testing, as it is not meaningful in terms of deciding where a student ranks on an academic level. Additionally, suffering from performance anxiety can play a role when taking the EQAO test. The effect of anxiety in children affects a student’s ability to fully demonstrate their skills. It has been further criticized that the EQAO robs the teacher’s valuable time to work with students at an individual level, which would be far more beneficial for a student. The students only see the score level of their test, thus this does not allow them to learn from their mistakes. How can one learn if they do not see where they went wrong? Therefore, perhaps implementing less costly ways to collect data will improve students learning. When speaking of less costly ways, I refer to less time consumed on these tests, and more time spent on resources that will help the students feel like they have learned something that they can build upon, as they grow older.
This EQAO test reveals false literacy and numeracy results of students and should be taken into account that their performance is not a representation of their full knowledge. The EQAO standardized test results do no ensure accountability because students with anxiety disorders may experience physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms that can skew their ability to perform to the best of their ability. Students with test taking anxiety may think negatively and concentrate on what would happen if they failed, rather than focusing on the positives. They have an intense fear of failing which may prevent them from fully concentrating and focusing on what they are trying to accomplish. To conclude, understanding that confounding variables affect test performance is crucial because it skews results of psychological testing and does not result in valid conclusions.
