In a May 15, 2016 article in the Globe & Mail entitled, “Ontario teachers encouraged to withdraw own kids from standardized tests“, an interesting question is raised:

Is the money the provincial government spends each year on EQAO testing the best use of our limited public funds?

“The Federation views province-wide testing of every student in the primary and junior divisions and Grades 9 and 10 as both a misuse of student time, and an ineffective use of funds that should be redirected to support students’ learning,” the ETFO memo stated.

Given the following:

• Ontario’s Auditor-General has confirmed that the Province has underfunded school repairs in this province by $5.8-billion over the past five years
• Over $15-billion of disrepair has been allowed to accumulate in Ontario’s publicly funded schools

we do need to question where education funding money is being allocated to ensure that student needs are being met. ETFO raises an interesting perspective by questioning the value of EQAO testing.

With a $15-billion problem to be addressed, Fix Our Schools encourages Kathleen Wynne’s provincial government to consider all possible solutions with an open mind. It is simply not enough to say, “there is no money to fix schools”.