EQAO - Who pulls their kids??

alc571

alc571

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 9, 2012
My son struggles with school, and is already stressing about EQAO this year (grade 6). He's part of the special education program, and has an IEP. Last year the grade 6's were tested for an entire week. I find the whole thing pointless, and torture for the kids.

Just wondering how many people pull their kids from school this week? Was thinking we'd book the bounceback for the week it's scheduled... Ooops.. sorry didn't know! lol
 
We have pulled them out, you might get a harder time during that but we do have the right to have the kids opt out of the testing. It is way too stressful. Our kids previous school had a EQAO club to prep the kids, had fun games and snacks to try to make it better. Then the last job action happened and we didn't have to test.
 
Those tests drove us nuts! It seemed that the focus for weeks before was just getting the kids ready for material that the teachers hadn't planned on covering and our daughter was wound tighter than the proverbial $3.00 watch the entire time! I really don't think they give an accurate picture of where each child sits on the scale they use, how can it when they've prepped them for it? Once it was done, our daughter was really disappointed that she didn't get a true "mark" to let her know how she had done, she's somewhat result-oriented. Does anyone know what the outcome is with the results of those tests? Do schools get more funding or "help" to get their students up to the provincial mean if they come up "short" as a school??

On the point of taking your kids our for a family vacation ... we did right up to highschool because we felt that the experiences they had outside of the classroom were just as important. Mind you that was a decade ago and I've heard that things have changed regarding the number of days kids can be out of school and what an "excusable" absence is now.
 
Eh, we didn't find it so bad. We explain to our kids just apply yourself, do your best and whatever happens, happens. I'm pretty sure no one will die if my kid doesn't score a near perfect on EQAO, and that is what we stress to our girls.

For ourselves, we wouldn't pull our kids out of the test. The way we see it, preparing yourself, doing your best, this is going to be a part of life. High school exams, university exams and papers, those are all stressful, and my hubby and I won't be able to shield them from that or pull them out of those. Hopefully preparing for the expectations of EQAO, will help give my kids some building blocks on how to prepare for other school tests down the road and the stress it brings. My oldest will be going into grade 6 as well and I completely forgot this is an EQAO year.

Anyway, we all do what is best for our families because you know your family best. Hope your son has a fantastic year!!
 
Susan2771 said:
For ourselves, we wouldn't pull our kids out of the test. The way we see it, preparing yourself, doing your best, this is going to be a part of life. High school exams, university exams and papers, those are all stressful, and my hubby and I won't be able to shield them from that or pull them out of those. Hopefully preparing for the expectations of EQAO, will help give my kids some building blocks on how to prepare for other school tests down the road and the stress it brings.
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This isn't completely true (or wasn't for us) Our daughter was granted specific assistance around testing situations at every level of education (up to and including university) due to her anxiety levels .. she still took all the same tests but was allowed to do them in a quieter environment with fewer distractions and the ability to wear her headphones if need be. These accommodations were NOT allowed during the week long EQAO testings sessions and we all lost a lot of sleep over the stress. Did we take her out? Nope -- that's part of your education, let's try and figure it out but come on, why couldn't she use the techniques that had been accepted for every other test up to that point? We never got an answer to that question. Some kids just work differently, I'm not sure if there will be accommodations for the OP's son, but i sure hope so!
 
I pulled my son out in grade 6 and did a vacation to WDW. It was so insignificant in his education journey that I had not remembered we did this until you asked the question. I was helping out in the classroom when he was in grade 3 during the pre-EQAO time and I was horrified by the emphasis given by the teacher to the testing. It is such a farce.
 
Donald - my hero said:
On the point of taking your kids our for a family vacation ... we did right up to highschool because we felt that the experiences they had outside of the classroom were just as important. Mind you that was a decade ago and I've heard that things have changed regarding the number of days kids can be out of school and what an "excusable" absence is now.
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I have zero issues taking him out of school... lol. We have taken him out of school twice per year for Disney since grade 2. His teachers have never even blinked an eye!

And my son has general anxiety over everything - school mostly. He absolutely hates everything about it, and he's already stressing. In grade 3 he was wound up so tight he couldn't sleep the entire time, and they started "prepping" them for the test in October! All they did was work on worksheets that would help them on the test. I feel like he learned nothing but how to do well on EQAO the entire year. And, because he has a learning disability they had someone read the questions to him, and scribe his answers - is this really testing his ability to read and write??? He can't do either. Should he not get a zero?? They're not accurate at all.
 
I'm not a teacher but here is my take on the whole EQAO thing.

I told my boys when they were going through it to do their best. The testing was not testing and scoring them, but rather it was a measure of what kind of job their teachers were doing ensuring they had the skill sets necessary to succeed. That being said in High School they marked some of the questions at the school somehow before they were sent off and these scores were used as part of the end of terms assignments they have to do.

Yes I agree there was way too much emphasis on the EQAO test during the years it takes place. The whole thing should be scrapped as far as I'm concerned.
 
I teach high school math in Ontario ... so regardless of my personal feelings about it, Grade 9 EQAO Math testing is a reality of my life each semester. As permitted by EQAO, many high schools do count portions of the students' work on the assessment towards their final math grade. My own students have overwhelmingly indicated that this gives the assessment more "worth" in their eyes. Additionally, to earn a secondary school diploma, Ontario students need to fulfill the Ontario Literacy Requirement and for most students the first attempt at this is through the OSSLT (EQAO Literacy Test) in Grade 10.

@alc571 based on what high school currently entails, it MIGHT be to your son's advantage to do the testing again this year in Grade 6. If his IEP includes accommodations like an individual or quiet setting, extra time, verbatim reading, etc. (and he regularly uses these accommodations in his day to day work), then he would be permitted the same accommodations during provincial testing. (@Donald - my hero your experience seems out of the ordinary for a student with an IEP.). For the reading part, it's mostly comprehension they are testing, so not a problem if he has the test read to him. Similarly, with writing, it's more than spelling and grammar they are looking at, so it's ok if his work is scribed. Also, since his anxiety about testing is already known, this is something that you, his classroom teacher, and any support people can work on with him throughout the year. Regardless of how he does on the actual assessment, he has a chance to build up coping strategies that can serve him well in high school and beyond.

All that said, you have to do what's best for your son. If you do decide to pull him from the testing, are there educational experiences close to home (museum, job shadow, etc.) you could do together during that time instead? At the risk of getting flamed, I'm not sure that a conveniently timed trip to Disney is the answer ... the idea that "it's ok to blow off stuff you don't want to do and go to Disney instead" seems like a slippery slope to start down, especially with a preteen.
 
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Thanks for your great input on this subject @disneymath (great screen name BTW!) I knew we had a few teachers hanging out around here and was hoping someone would chime in with accurate information. Even though it was a really stressful time in our household, we knew it had to happen and just did our best with what we had at the time. I was the classroom mom who brought in drinks and snacks that entire week in grade 6 so she had that to look forward to, helped with the stress knowing that i would be there mid afternoon.

I'll pull up beside the fire with you because i also would have difficulty planning a trip when i knew it would conflict with something this big. Plan side trips like you mention, yup, but a full out trip, i would feel guilty the whole time!
 
I work in the system (K-8) and I would love to see grade 3 and grade 6 EQAO testing scrapped.
Parents know what is best for their children. If a parent decides to plan an educational trip for their child I say good for them. Way tooooooooooooooo much class time is spent teaching to this test.



albert-einstein-miracle-curiosity-survives-education.jpg



JMHO
Hugs Mel
 
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My kids don't get too worked about them because I tell them it's not a big deal. They are most excited because they are allowed to chew gum during the tests so my daughters biggest stress regarding the test was picking out what gum she wanted lol! I just tell the kids to answer the questions the best they can and not to worry about it! I take the results with a grain of salt.
 
Sugar Jones said:
My kids don't get too worked about them because I tell them it's not a big deal. They are most excited because they are allowed to chew gum during the tests so my daughters biggest stress regarding the test was picking out what gum she wanted lol! I just tell the kids to answer the questions the best they can and not to worry about it! I take the results with a grain of salt.
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When I mentioned perhaps taking a trip during EQAO to my DD this week (we are thinking about Europe, and the end of May would be better than July for us), that was her biggest reason NOT to go then. She'd miss EQAO and thus the gum.

We (and my kids teachers) seem to minimize these tests. DD took the Gr. 3 ones but ODS didn't, since they weren't given 2 years ago (teachers were on work-to-rule I think?). DD's teacher called them the "Evil Questions Attacking Ontario" and told the kids that they were NOT a big deal/important.
 
When my daughter did it in grade 3, that was pretty much all we heard about for the entire year. She didn't exactly love it, and it drove us (the parents) crazy. She did it again last year in grade 6, but very little was said about it at home at least. Not much communication sent to the parents this time either except "on this date your child will be taking a test... blah blah blah" so it wasn't as bad.

But from what we've heard, read and seen, it really doesn't sound like the EQAO test serves a lot of purpose other than provide provincial statistics. It doesn't appear that the results help or impede a child's success in school. But I'd say just for the stress that some of the kids get, the test can go away :)
 
I don't have anything to add about pulling the kids from school...but when our daughter did EQAO in Grade 3 and Grade 6, the teachers told them it stood for Evil Questions Attacking Ontario LOL :)
 
It seems much less stressful then it used to be. As a teacher, there seems to be much less emphasis on teaching to the test. I wouldn't pull my child from EQAO testing, but if they missed it, cause they were sick or away. Oh well.
 
@disneymath Thank you for your response. I never really thought of it that way. He does have an IEP with accommodations for his anxiety, and his reading/writing (has a laptop that reads his work and assists with his writing).

I think it would be better if they just gave the kids tests as work pages during the course of the year. Why do they have to tell them it's a test? Why do they have to spend weeks practicing? And why full days? My son is exhausted by the time he gets home from a regular day of school because he has to work so much harder than the other kids just to keep up.
 
@alc571 ... sorry for taking a while to reply ... back to school week is pretty hectic even at high school!

Your son should be able to use his laptop on the test, based on how you say he currently uses it.

I think the idea behind the practicing is to get the kids used to the format and give them feedback on how to improve their work before it actually counts during the official assessment. It's similar to the idea of an athlete training before competing or a musician/dancer practicing before performing. Most teachers hope students' stress will be reduced because they've done the practice and are familiar with the format.

I can't really speak to the timelines and such as they are different in high school compared to grades 3 and 6. I know the elementary EQAO assessments takes place over a week, but I was under the impression that the testing only happened during part of each day. All day everyday for a week seems like a lot to me too!
 
My daughter has ADHD and an IEP and they didn't make any special allowances for her during EQAO. (Although to be fair, her teacher that year was a DISASTER and treated her as though her difficulty concentrating could be overcome with more self discipline! :sad2: ) DD was worrying for months leading up to the tests.

We told her they were meaningless tests in terms of her actual marks and that it had more to do with the education system than anything else.

We told her to do her best but not to worry about her performance. It lessened quite a bit of her stress and she got through them okay.

Personally, I didn't want to pull her out because doing "dumb crap you don't want to do and sometimes makes no dang difference in the long run" is a part of life and I figured it was a good time for her to learn that lesson. :rotfl2:

We designed a week's worth of rewards for her and every day when she came home from school she had a different "treat" to look forward to as a celebration of having made it through that day's testing. Though the testing lasts the week (it was four days for her if I remember correctly) it's only for a certain portion of the day. We decided that she could and should handle it. In the end, you need to decide if your son is in a similar place.
 
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