EQAO isn’t the crisis — it’s Ford’s diversion tactics

Nigel Barriffe  – 2025-12-07

What’s wrong with those EQAO test scores – again?! Doug Ford and Education Minister Paul Calandra weren’t seriously interested in answering that question, so they  rolled out a familiar routine: EQAO scores “show insufficient progress” and instead of taking responsibility for the chaos the Ford government has created over the years, they blame everyone else — teachers, trustees, the boards, even the tests themselves. At this point, the only thing they haven’t blamed is Mercury being in retrograde — though there’s still time before the next news cycle.

Let’s be honest. EQAO is not a meaningful measure of student learning. It narrows curriculum, punishes high‑needs communities, and eats up weeks of instructional time. But EQAO is not causing a crisis. However it is enabling a Premier  to use those scores as political cover for another power grab with Bill 33.

Bill 33 hands the Minister sweeping authority to direct and even take over school boards under the vague banner of “public interest.” It centralizes control, sidelines trustees, and positions the government — not educators, not families — as the ultimate decision‑maker. What it doesn’t do is fix a single actual barrier to student learning. (ETFO Bill 33 Resource) 

And those barriers are staring us in the face:

    • Class sizes remain at historic highs. Ontario now has some of the largest junior/intermediate class sizes in the country.  
    • One in three Ontario schools requires major repair — leaking roofs, broken HVAC, outdated electrical systems.  
    • Special education waitlists continue to grow while funding remains stagnant.  
    • School violence has increased significantly over the last five years, with educators reporting more incidents but fewer supports. 

But instead of addressing any of that, Calandra announces yet another advisory body to examine EQAO. As if the real mystery here is the test, not the chronic underfunding and political interference driving these results. And honestly — if this government needs another advisory committee to figure out why underfunded schools are struggling, I  know a Grade 3 class that can solve that math problem faster. By the way, the chair of this advisory committee will take home $1500 per day while the other members get $1000 each day they tell the Ministry what it already knows. Will the advisors have any educational background? It’s a fair question given resumes of the men currently supervising four Ontario school boards.

When the Ford government first came to power in 2019, it appointed educational psychologist, Cameron Montgomery as  full-time chair of the board for  EQAO. Montgomery was a failed PC candidate for Orleans and managed to score a salary of $140 000 per year. The previous chair was part-time and paid about $5000 per year. Four years later in 2023 the percentage of Grade 6 students meeting the EQAO criteria for math saw a miniscule rise from 49 to 50 percent. So much for Tory appointments.

We all know what’s actually happening. When a government refuses to invest in the public system, it has to invent reasons to justify the decline — and EQAO conveniently provides numbers that can be spun into a faux crisis. A crisis that, conveniently, positions Ford to consolidate even more authority under Bill 33.

Educators, parents, and students have been clear for years: learning improves when classrooms are supported, staffed, and safe. No standardized test will ever substitute for that.

Ontario doesn’t have an EQAO problem. It has a Doug Ford problem. And until this government stops governing by distraction, deflection, and   crony appointments, our students will continue paying the price for political theatre masquerading as education reform.

 

 

 Nigel Barriffe is  public school teacher, dad, singer songwriter

 

Revised 2025-12-11