Reaction to the EQAO Experience

Each day, for the six days that we wrote the EQAO assessment, I debriefed with my students.  I asked their reactions to the test questions that they encountered.  Here is what they told me:

Literacy
This is a good test - it was similar to the work we did this year.

Because of the preparation that we had, EQAO seemed really easy to me.

A lot of preparation that was done all year made it "way" easier.

...much easier than the work we did in class...

Since the questions that we did all year were structured like EQAO questions are, it was easier to understand.

This is the same as we have been doing all year.  Since Mrs. Colautti helped to prepare us it seemed easier.

I was nervous for nothing - it is "way" easier than I thought.

Going through the rest of the test will be easy!

I like how the test was planned out - there was a little of everything we did all year mixed in together.  It was easy!

The practice work we did helped me recognize what to do in the questions.

Easy!  We were taught to keep our answers to five lines or less just like the EQAO questions.

It was easier than I expected - everything had been taught so it was a review of the whole year.

Because of learning sophisticated this year, it was easy to find the right words to answer the questions.

It felt like a CASI test.

The multiple choice questions were tricky.

I am getting used to it so I am working quicker.

I used to think it was scary but now I know it is not.

The work was condensed today (day 2) so it was easy to finish.

The work was shorter today (day 3) - it keeps getting easier.

It was fun to write about my favourite fictional character. 

The multiple choice seemed easier today (day 3).

I enjoyed this day the best (day 4).  I thought writing the long story was easier because you have more room to explain your thinking.

The visuals provided helped give me ideas of what to write.

I could write more freely today (day 4).

Overall when asked, 23 out of the 26 students in our class believe that they will score level 3 or higher on the literacy portion of the assessment(approximately 88% of the class) .  I hope they are correct!

Mathematics

I was able to provide the students with a "buffet" of materials that could assist any student in completing any math question.  Check out the photos.

It was simple.

We were well prepared.

Problem solving was well known and easy.

Easy, but more difficult than Literacy.

Easier than Literacy.

It was asking us the math we learned all year.

There was less problem solving than I expected.

This section was long.

The multiple choice questions were easy.

More work was required for the multiple choice than I expected.

Day 2 was easier than day 1.

Day 1 was easier than day 2.

Overall the students thought that EQAO was easier than they expected.  They said literacy was easier than math.  I hope that their confidence pays off!