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21^st CENTURY SKILLS

• Preparing Students for the World Beyond the Classroom: Linking EQAO Assessments to 21st-Century Skills

  January 2011

  This bulletin summarizes the findings in the "21st-Century Skills" section of EQAO's Provincial Secondary School Report on the Results of the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, 2009-2010. The purpose of the section was to examine and report the links between students' performances on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics and the 21st-century skills that young people need to develop during their school years in order to participate effectively and successfully in the world and workplace of the 21st century.

  Bulletin [PDF] | Posted 02.01.11
  

GENDER ACHIEVEMENT

• In the Know with EQAO: The Unnecessary Lag in Boys’ Achievement

  November 2010

  The urgency of the need to attend to boys’ academic achievement, right from the earliest years, has never been more apparent. In this article, EQAO helps to inform discussions about gender and literacy and numeracy.

  Article [PDF] | Article [HTML] | Posted 11.26.10
  

• Towards an Understanding of Gender Differences in Literacy Achievement

  May 2010

  This research project examines the literacy achievement gap observed between boys and girls in English-language schools. The focus of the qualitative data collection, which involves interviews and observations, is to identify factors that could account for the presence of a high or low gap in literacy achievement in the selected schools.

  Research Report [PDF] Posted 05.12.10
  Literature Review [PDF] Posted 05.12.10
  Bulletin [PDF] Posted 05.12.10
  

• Relating Attitudes, Gender and Student Achievement in Grade 3 and Grade 6

  April 1999
  Research Paper [PDF]
  

MATH ACHIEVEMENT

• The Impact of School Structure on the Achievement of Grade 6 Students on EQAO Assessments

  September 2012

  This bulletin summarizes the results of a research project on the achievement results of students on the EQAO Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Junior Division (Grades 4–6) relative to school structure or grade-level configuration as defined by the grades in the school.

  Read this bulletin [PDF] Posted 09.26.12

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

  May 2012

  This report presents the results of the first phase of a larger research project designed to examine the relationships between student achievement on the EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics and a number of student and teacher factors. This phase of the research involved an analysis of the use of the EQAO results as part of the final course mark for English- and French-language academic and applied mathematics courses, a summary of student demographic characteristics and questionnaire responses and cohort analyses.

  View this research report [PDF] Posted 05.31.12

  ON THE SAME SUBJECT

  • In the Know with EQAO: A Practical Recipe for Math Success Posted 05.31.12
    
  • Bulletin: Counting the EQAO Grade 9 Mathematics Assessment for Course Marks Makes a Difference in Student Results [PDF] Posted 12.16.11
  • Bulletin: Factors that are related to Student Achievement on the EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics [PDF] Posted 08.03.12

• Learning and Assessment of Mathematics Among Ontario Francophone Students in the Early and Formative Years Final Report

  October 2002
  Research Report [PDF]

LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT

• Comparison of the Performance of Ontario Students on the OSSLT/TPCL and the PISA 2009 Reading Assessment

  July 2012

  The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of linking the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test/Test provincial de compétences linguistiques (OSSLT/TPCL) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 reading assessment.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 01.23.13

• In the Know with EQAO: Reading into Reading Enjoyment

  February 2012

  EQAO survey data have informed discussions about the levels of reading enjoyment among Ontario students. In these discussions, some have suggested that the focus on literacy in schools might be negatively affecting students’ enjoyment of reading. A closer look at EQAO data provides a different perspective and insights that can help educators and parents foster reading enjoyment in our children and youth.

  Article [PDF] | Article [HTML] | Posted 02.14.12

• Keeping an Eye on Literacy: Tracking the Progress of Students Who Were Unsuccessful on or Did Not Participate in the 2006 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

  July 2010

  The purpose of this research project was to track the results of first-time eligible students who were unsuccessful on or did not participate in the 2006 OSSLT in order to monitor their progress toward satisfying the literacy graduation requirement.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 07.28.10
  Bulletin [PDF] | Posted 07.28.10

SCHOOL-BASED RESEARCH

• Characteristics of High- and Low-Achieving English-Language Schools

  February 2012

  This bulletin summarizes results that are part of a larger, comprehensive study being conducted by EQAO to better understand school and teacher practices that contribute to higher levels of student achievement on the Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics in the primary and junior divisions.

  Bulletin [PDF] | Posted 02.22.12

• Exploring the Underlying Traits of High-Performing Schools

  September 2010

  This article presents an overview of the research that has identified key aspects of effective schools and provided educators with important ideas for enhancing school improvement efforts.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 09.24.10

• Strategies That Work For Schools: Thinking Globally in the Postmodern World

  October 2010

  This article uses a global context as an analogy to explore successful educational practices. The themes that appear have been demonstrated in countless schools across Ontario.

  This research was undertaken by Rhona Shulman, for EQAO and based on school stories compiled by the EQAO School Support and Outreach Team.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 11.17.10

PARENT PERSPECTIVES AND INVOLVEMENT

• Parents’ Perspectives: The Importance of Provincial Testing and the Information it Provides About Children’s Learning

  February 2010

  The parent research findings indicate that Ontario parents believe that the provincial testing program is important and that they value the information it provides about their children, their children’s schools and the education system.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 02.16.10

• Parental Involvement in Education

  June 2001
  Research Report [PDF]

COMPARISONS WITH INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENTS

• Standards Project for Elementary Reading

  February 2008

  Are the provincial and international elementary reading standards comparable?

  This research project compares the constructs (what is measured), assessment formats and standards for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study and for the reading component of EQAO’s primary and junior division assessments, administered to students in Grades 3 and 6.

  Bulletin summarizing the results of the research project [PDF] | Posted 06.17.2008
  Linking Ontario Provincial Student Assessment Standards with those of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2006

• Comparing Teacher Education: Ontario, Canada and Other TIMSS Participants (England, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, United States)

  December 2000
  Research Paper [PDF]

TECHNICAL QUALITY

• In the Know: Student Testing: Why Ontario’s on the Right Track

  April 2011

  Brian L. Desbiens, Chair of EQAO’s Board of Directors, responds to Toronto Star columnist, Rick Salutin’s article on large-scale testing.

  Article [PDF] | Article [HTML] | Posted 04.12.11

• A Comparison of Four Test-Equating Methods

  January 2010

  Are there differences in the consistency with which four commonly used equating methods, including the one used by EQAO, capture true changes in student achievement from year to year?

  This research project examines four approaches to equating assessment results to ensure comparability from one year to the next. This research was undertaken by Xiao Pang, Ebby Madera, Nizam Radwan and Su Zhang, psychometricians with EQAO.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 08.06.10
  Bulletin summarizing the results of the research project [PDF] | Posted 02.01.10

• Maintaining Comparability: The Move to a Single Literacy Score for the OSSLT

  August 2010

  In response to recommendations from a comprehensive external review of all EQAO assessment programs, the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) was shortened in 2006. Concurrently, the decision to report a single literacy score rather than two separate scores for reading and writing was also taken. This research study describes the model that EQAO followed to ensure that the results for the 2006 OSSLT would be comparable to those for the 2004 version. This was crucial to guarantee the validity of student-performance comparisons between the two administrations.

  Research Report [PDF] | Posted 08.06.10

• Model Selection for the Analysis of EQAO Assessment Data

  December 2007

  Are the current Item Response Theory models used by EQAO to analyze student responses and to compute student scores appropriate?

  This research project examines the appropriateness of the current psychometric practices EQAO uses to analyze student responses to test questions and to obtain student scores on its tests. This research has been undertaken by Yiyu Xie, psychometrician with EQAO.

  Bulletin summarizing the results of the research project [PDF] | Posted Posted 06.17.08

• Psychometric Perspectives for EQAO: Generalizability Theory and Applications

  August 1999
  Research Paper [PDF]

• Varieties of Assessment: Issues of Validity and Reliability

  June 1999
  Research Paper [PDF]