What do the 2025-26 EQAO results actually tell us?

HWDSB released its 2025–26 EQAO results this week. There were some improvements, but the results are mixed.

At Grade 3, writing increased by 2 percentage points, math increased by 2 points, and reading remained at 70%. Grade 6 results decreased by an average of approximately 2 points across reading, writing and math, although HWDSB reports that Grade 6 achievement remains about 4 points higher on average than it was in 2022–23. Grade 9 math increased by 2 points, while Grade 10 literacy increased by 1 point.

Those numbers provide information, but I think they also need context.

Ontario allocated $32.385 million to EQAO in 2025–26, and the provincial allocation has increased to $33.625 million for 2026–27. It is important to be precise about that figure: this is the funding for the EQAO agency as a whole, not simply the cost of students sitting down and writing the tests.

More than 569,000 Ontario students completed EQAO assessments during the 2025–26 school year. EQAO says the purpose of the assessments is to provide an independent snapshot of whether students are meeting curriculum expectations at key points in their education. The resulting data can be used by schools, boards and the province to identify trends, achievement gaps and areas where additional supports or resources may be required.

But the word snapshot matters.

EQAO itself states that Grade 3 and Grade 6 results do not affect a student's report-card grades. The Grade 10 OSSLT is connected to Ontario's secondary-school literacy graduation requirement, while the Grade 9 mathematics assessment is incorporated into the student's course mark.

A standardized assessment can tell us how a large group of students performed on the same assessment under similar conditions. It cannot, by itself, tell us everything about an individual child's academic progress.

Students learn differently. They have different learning needs, experiences and accommodations. Some perform well under testing conditions; others do not. Teachers, meanwhile, work with their students throughout the school year and assess learning through classroom work, conversations, observations, assignments and other assessments.

That is why I don't believe a one- or two-point movement in EQAO results should automatically be treated as either a major achievement or a failure. It is one piece of information, not the entire picture of student achievement.

This isn't just a discussion happening among parents and educators. The Ontario government has appointed an advisory body to conduct a comprehensive review of student achievement and assessment, including whether EQAO tests accurately reflect what students are taught, whether the assessments are fair for students, how the data should inform teaching and funding decisions, and whether the current approach provides an accurate picture of student achievement.

So when we look at HWDSB's results, I think the useful questions go beyond “Did the number go up or down?”

We should be asking what the results are telling us about students who need additional support, whether those supports are reaching them, how classroom assessments compare with standardized results, and whether the considerable public investment in province-wide testing is giving students, families and educators information that meaningfully improves learning.

Parents should certainly look at EQAO results, but they shouldn't view them as a report card on their child. The individual assessments and observations of the educators who actually teach that student every day provide a much fuller picture of where that child is academically, where they are progressing, and where they may need additional support.

I’d also like to hear from the people most directly affected by EQAO testing. Students, parents and guardians: what has your experience been? Do you find EQAO results useful in understanding student learning, or do you place more value on classroom assessments and teacher feedback? Do you think province-wide standardized testing is worth the time, stress and public investment involved? These are important questions, and I’d be interested in hearing how families across our schools view the role EQAO should play in public education.