April 28th, 2017
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Between May 22nd and June 2nd, your child will be taking part in the provincial Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary or Junior Division. This assessment is administered to all Grade 3 and 6 students in Ontario’s publicly funded school system by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), an independent agency of the Government of Ontario.
This assessment consists of two booklets assessing language and a third booklet assessing mathematics. Each booklet is made up of two sections, for a total of six sections. Each section will take about one hour to complete. The administration of the six sections will be spread out across the two-week window.
EQAO assessment questions are directly based on the expectations set out in The Ontario Curriculum, which is what teachers teach in the classroom every day. Therefore, your child does not need to prepare in any special way. Students will write the test in their regular classrooms with their regular teachers and are simply encouraged to do their best and show what they know.
September, EQAO will send our school a report on your child’s achievement on the assessment, and we will send it home at that time. Your child’s results are private and will give you an indication of his or her achievement in relation to Ontario’s high provincial standard. The standard, or Level 3, represents the range from B– to B+. Meeting the standard means your child has a solid grasp of the required knowledge and skills, which is a good indication that he or she will be ready for Grade 7. The results of the assessment do not affect your child’s grades or report card in any way. They do, however, give you information about your child’s progress to add to the overall picture.
You can use the information that EQAO assessment results provide about your child’s strengths and areas needing improvement to celebrate his or her progress. It can help you in discussions with teachers. We can use it as a school community, along with other information, to guide our school improvement initiatives for reading, writing and mathematics. This benefits not only your child but all the students in our school. The results are also used by our school board and the Ministry of Education to direct attention and resources where they are needed.
For more information about EQAO and to view a sample of its assessments, you are encouraged to visit www.eqao.com.
Sincerely,
P.Schlegel
Principal