Understanding EQAO Scores: What the Levels Mean

EQAO — the Education Quality and Accountability Office — is the Ontario agency that assesses students in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 10. Its results are reported using achievement levels rather than percentages or letter grades. This page sets out the official definitions and reporting rules, drawn from EQAO's own published documentation.

The achievement levels

EQAO defines four levels of achievement, with the following official descriptors and the percentage bands assigned by the Ontario Ministry of Education's achievement chart:[1][4]

What "the provincial standard" means

The provincial standard is set at Level 3 by the Ontario Ministry of Education.[1] EQAO states explicitly that the provincial standard is not used to determine whether a student passes or fails; it describes it as an established target indicating whether a student is prepared for work in subsequent grades.[1]

The figure most commonly quoted about a school — "X% of students at or above the provincial standard" — is the proportion of participating students who achieved Level 3 or Level 4.

Which results count toward a student's marks

This differs by assessment, and is a common point of confusion:

• Grades 3 and 6: EQAO states these results do not affect report card grades.[2]
• Grade 9 mathematics:EQAO states that results "are to be included as part of a student's final course mark" in accordance with the Ministry's Growing Success policy document.[3]EQAO's page does not specify a fixed percentage; the weighting is governed by Ministry policy.
• OSSLT (Grade 10 literacy):successful completion is a requirement for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Students receive a result of "successful" or "not yet successful" and may retake it in a later session.[2]

What each assessment covers

Grades 3 and 6

Both assess reading, writing and mathematics. Grade 3 falls at the end of the primary division and Grade 6 at the end of the junior division.

Grade 9 mathematics

Ontario introduced a de-streamed Grade 9 mathematics course (MTH1W) with the 2021 curriculum, replacing the previously streamed academic and applied courses.[6] Because the course and assessment changed, results from before and after that transition are not directly comparable.

OSSLT

Reported as a success rate rather than achievement levels. Results are published separately for students writing for the first time and for those who were previously eligible.

Participation categories and missing data

Not every enrolled student contributes to a school's reported results. EQAO distinguishes several categories:[1]

• Fully participating — students who answered at least one question in each session and therefore have data.
• Exempt — students formally exempted from one or more components. For the OSSLT, EQAO notes students may be exempted only if they are not working toward an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, as set out in their Individual Education Plan.
• Absent — students without results due to absence.
• Insufficient evidence (OSSLT) — students who did not submit work for one session.

Because exempted and absent students are not included in the reported achievement figures, participation rates are worth reading alongside the results themselves.

Suppression of small groups

EQAO suppresses counts below 10 in its publicly released aggregate data to protect student privacy.[5] This is why smaller schools frequently show gaps in their reported results. A missing figure indicates a small reporting group, not a problem with the school.

Where our figures come from

Every EQAO figure on this site is calculated from EQAO's published open data files for the 2024–25 school year, with prior years used for trend lines. Our methodology page documents exactly how the averages and composite scores are derived. For the underlying provincial reports, see EQAO's own results pages.

For context on how these results relate to student background, see the research on income and test scores.