I’ve been on the Toronto education beat for over a decade now, and I’ve rarely seen school administrators this frustrated. Standing outside Earl Haig Secondary School yesterday morning, Principal Diana Patti didn’t mince words about the province’s delayed Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test results.
“We’re planning in the dark,” she told me, gesturing toward the school building where teachers were meeting. “These results help us identify which students need additional support and where our curriculum gaps might be.”
The EQAO assessments, Ontario’s standardized testing program measuring student achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics, typically releases results by late August. We’re now approaching mid-October with no clear timeline for when schools will receive this critical data.
Toronto District School Board trustee Shelley Laskin shared her concerns during our phone conversation. “Schools use these metrics to develop improvement plans. The delay means those plans are now based on outdated information from last year.”
According to Ministry of Education spokesperson Brian Woodland, the delay stems from “enhanced quality assurance protocols” implemented this year. But educators across Toronto aren’t buying this explanation.
“It feels like moving the goalposts,” says math department head Raj Sharma at Northern Secondary School. “We’ve already started implementing programs based on what we think might help, but without the data, we’re essentially guessing.”
The timing couldn’t be worse. Toronto schools are already grappling with post-pandemic learning recovery challenges. Latest figures from the Toronto Foundation’s Vital Signs report indicate that math proficiency among Grade 6 students dropped nearly 8 percentage points since 2019.
Parents are equally concerned. At last night’s Davisville Public School council meeting, parent Amina Hassan voiced what many were thinking. “We want to know how our kids are doing compared to provincial standards. These delays make it feel like nobody’s minding the store.”
I spoke with education researcher Dr. Caroline Morgan at the University of Toronto, who points to a troubling pattern. “Transparency in education data shouldn’t be this difficult. When results are delayed, it creates unnecessary tension between schools and families.”
The EQAO assessments have always been somewhat controversial. Critics argue they create undue pressure on students and lead to teaching to the test. Advocates maintain they provide valuable standardized metrics for measuring student achievement.
Jennifer Lee, who teaches Grade 9 math at Central Technical School, sees both sides. “Sure, these tests aren’t perfect, but they give us benchmarks. Right now, I have students who might need interventions, but I’m working with information from before summer break.”
During my visit to Northview Heights Secondary School, I noticed whiteboard plans for intervention strategies with blank spaces where EQAO data should inform decisions. Vice-principal Marcus Thompson explained they’re developing contingency plans while waiting.
“We’re moving forward with what we can control,” Thompson said. “But it’s frustrating to know there’s data sitting somewhere that could help us serve our students better.”
The province has promised results “in the coming weeks,” but Toronto educators say that’s not good enough. A coalition of principals from across the city has formally requested an exact release date.
For students like Jasmine Chen, a Grade 10 student at Harbord Collegiate who took the Grade 9 math assessment last year, the delay means uncertainty. “I want to know if I need extra help in certain areas before we get too deep into this year’s curriculum.”
As Toronto schools continue waiting, the clock is ticking. Every week without this data means another week of potentially misaligned educational strategies.
In the meantime, schools are doing what they’ve always done – adapting. But as Principal Patti reminded me as I left Earl Haig, “We shouldn’t have to fly blind when the instruments exist to guide us.”
The silence from Queen’s Park grows more deafening with each passing day.
