Hear from EQAO leaders to learn more about our agency.
CEO Speaks About EQAO
EQAO’s CEO, Dan Koenig, offers valuable insights into EQAO as an agency.
CEO Speaks About EQAO
CEO Speaks About EQAO
In this short video, EQAO CEO Dan Koenig introduces EQAO and speaks about its contribution to the quality of education in Ontario.
Hello, all.
Welcome to EQAO.
I am delighted to have the privilege to share with you what makes EQAO an integral part of the education system in Ontario.
Did you know that EQAO contributes to the quality and accountability of Ontario’s publicly funded education system for K–12?
And that the data EQAO provides is used to inform student, school and board improvement?
That’s right. As an evidence-based research-informed organization, EQAO is focused on empowering educators, parents, guardians, stakeholders and the public at large with the insights and information needed to support student learning and improve student outcomes.
EQAO develops multiple resources to help with delivering its large-scale assessments to students in the province of Ontario and prides itself in providing valuable insights on both student achievement and students’ perceptions of math, literacy and their learning environment.
I invite you to visit our home page regularly and to subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram channels, where you will find information to support teachers, parents, guardians, students, and the education community at large.
Thank you!
CEO Speaking About How EQAO Creates Assessments
In this short video, EQAO CEO Dan Koenig explains how EQAO creates and scores its student assessments.
Hello, all.
I would like to share with you how EQAO creates and scores its student assessments. Key components in creating EQAO assessments include consultations with current Ontario educators who research, develop and review every question to be used. The questions are developed in collaboration with experts in measurement from around the world and across the education field.
This ensures that EQAO assessments are valid, fair, equitable and inclusive for all students and remain aligned with the most recent Ontario Curriculum.
EQAO also engages with various groups, such as its
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Assessment Development Committee and Range Finding Committee—as well as
- the EQAO Student Engagement Committee, and
- the Content Development Committee.
You can learn more about these committees’ activities on our website.
I also invite you to try out EQAO’s sample and practice tests, and experience our testing environments for yourself. These tests are available on the EQAO website.
CEO Speaks About EQAO Mandate and Mission
In this short video, EQAO CEO Dan Koenig introduces EQAO’s mandate and mission of contributing to the quality of education in Ontario through objective and reliable information gained from student assessments.
Hello, all.
Here at EQAO we are dedicated to enhancing the quality and accountability of the education system in Ontario. Working with the education community, we strive to:
- ensure our dedicated team of experts are focused on empowering educators, parents, guardians, stakeholders, and the public at large with the insights and information needed to support student learning and improve student outcomes;
- design and implement a reliable and valid program of assessment.
EQAO reports to the Minister, the public and the education community on assessment and education issues and makes recommendations for improvement.
We are committed to anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our work.
CEO Speaks to Provincial Highlights of all Assessments
I am happy to share that with the support of educators and support staff from across the province, more than 600 000 students completed EQAO assessments in during the 2021–2022 school year.
– Dan Koenig, Chief Executive Officer
- Literacy generally remains stable,
- while numeracy shows: A decrease in the percentage of students meeting provincial standards.
- These results show that Ontario has experienced the same pandemic-related impact on achievement as demonstrated in other national and international jurisdictions.
Chair Addresses the Camera
Chair Addresses the Camera
Chair addresses the camera—Governance of EQAO
In this video, EQAO Chair, Dr. Cameron Montgomery, talks about the establishment of the agency and explains its governance. In other words, you will learn more about EQAO’s structural composition and how the agency operates.
For additional information, please visit About EQAO.
Hello. I’m Cameron Montgomery and I am the chair of EQAO’s board of directors.
The Education Quality and Accountability Office, or EQAO, is an agency of the government of Ontario governed by board members.
Like other governmental agencies, EQAO has a board of directors that provides strategic direction and oversight to the agency.
All the members of EQAO’s board of directors, including myself as Chair, are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
EQAO’s board-member appointment process follows the guidelines established by the Education Quality and Accountability Office Act of 1996, commonly known as the EQAO Act, and the Public Appointments Secretariat.
EQAO’s board of directors consists of Ontarians who have skills, knowledge, experience or background in various fields.
Our board of directors reflects the diversity of our province and of the Ontario Public Service.
Some of the key responsibilities of the board of directors are establishing the agency’s strategic priorities and approving its business plan, financial statements and annual report, in accordance with the Agencies and Appointments Directive.
The board’s connection to EQAO’s everyday operations and activities is through the chief executive officer, who is also appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
EQAO’s chief executive officer manages the agency and its day-to-day operations, such as its large-scale assessment program, and also supervises the agency’s staff.
The chief executive officer reports directly to the board of directors.
EQAO as an agency always operates under the direction that is set out in the EQAO Act, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Minister of Education and the agency, and all applicable agency directives that are set out by the Management Board of Cabinet.
I invite you to visit EQAO’s website, as it serves as a central source of information about the agency.
Chair addresses the camera—Mandate and Use of EQAO Assessments
In this video, EQAO Chair, Dr. Cameron Montgomery, explains how EQAO’s mandate contributes to the quality of education in Ontario through the agency’s assessments and recommendations. He also talks about how the agency was created.
For additional information, please visit About EQAO.
Hello. I’m Cameron Montgomery and I am the chair of EQAO’s board of directors.
Did you know that the Education Quality and Accountability Office, commonly known as EQAO, was established in 1996 following a recommendation of the Ontario Royal Commission on Learning?
After consulting extensively with Ontarians and the education community, the Commission concluded that province-wide assessments would help address the desire among Ontarians for greater quality and accountability in the publicly funded education system.
EQAO’s large-scale assessments are always based on the current Ontario curriculum, and they are administered to students at key stages of their education journey.
The results of EQAO assessments, what we also call assessment data, provide evidence-based information that is used for improvement at the individual, school, school board and provincial levels.
That means EQAO assessment data help to support parents and guardians in better understanding how their children are doing throughout their learning journey.
EQAO assessment data is also a piece of the puzzle that helps teachers and educators as they develop specific improvement plans in their local schools.
And EQAO assessment data can support policy-makers as they determine how best to strengthen student outcomes across the province.
Throughout the year, EQAO staff host live virtual webinars aimed at educators and teachers, and at parents and guardians, about the agency’s assessment program and how to use assessment data efficiently.
I invite you to visit EQAO’s website for more information about EQAO’s mandate and activities or contact the agency at [email protected].
Chair addresses the camera—Digitalization and Modernization at EQAO
In this video, EQAO’s Chair, Dr. Cameron Montgomery, talks about the process of digitalization and modernization of the agency’s assessments and shows their benefits over paper-based testing.
For additional information, please visit Digitalization and Modernization at EQAO.
Hello. I’m Cameron Montgomery and I am the chair of EQAO’s board of directors.
At EQAO, we aim to support student learning through large-scale assessments that reflect the education community of today.
The agency strives to continually improve to promote positive student outcomes across the province.
That is why, for several years, EQAO has been on a path of modernizing its operations and digitalizing its assessment program.
EQAO’s modernization is a multi-faceted and multi-year initiative that focuses on five distinct areas.
These areas are:
- large‐scale assessments,
- reporting of results,
- research,
- engagement with Ontarians and
- supporting equity, diversity and inclusion in education.
Part of EQAO’s modernization is digitalizing our assessments.
Digital assessments, available online, offer several benefits over paper-based testing for our stakeholders and our partners.
For instance, digital assessments reflect the modern education experience of students today.
Digital assessments increase administration scheduling flexibility for schools and school boards throughout the entire school year and offer more timely feedback to educators, and to parents and guardians, on how students are doing.
Digital assessments also address accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion much more effectively.
You can view and try out on our website EQAO’s online sample and practice tests for each of our large-scale assessments.
I invite you to navigate EQAO’s website for more information about EQAO’s digitalization and modernization, and to learn more about the agency’s assessment program.
And if you would like to reach out to us, you can e-mail us at [email protected] or call our Information Centre at 1-888-327-7377.