Students can access the online assessment in two ways: Lockdown Access or Direct/Alternative Access. These differ in level of security.
The SEB, Respondus and Kiosk applications provide assessment security by locking down all other functions of the device during the assessment. This means third-party software, including accessibility software will not be accessible as the browser is locked down. The Direct/Alternative Access method requires more supervision of students when administering the assessment.
For students who require assistive technology and their school is using Lockdown Access, the alternative access option is available.
To review the options for accessing the e-assessment platform, refer to the sections below.
Lockdown Access (SEB, Respondus and Kiosk)
Choose the SEB if using Windows devices, Macs or iPads.
Choose the Respondus or Kiosk application if using Chromebooks or Android devices.
The installation and validation of the SEB software or Respondus or Kiosk application on the testing devices should be the responsibility of the school’s or the school board’s IT representative. The SEB-configuration file has been made available to the technical specialist for the school to be downloaded or pushed onto these devices.
NOTE
Please note the Google Chrome Apps support of Kiosk will end on July 2025. Please consider the installing the other options above.
IMPORTANT
Version 3.4.0 of the SEB must be installed for Windows, and version 3.1 must be installed for Macs and iPads. The previous SEB version must be uninstalled from all devices.
Enabling the Lockdown Browser
Teachers using SEB will need to enter the four-digit SEB Password on each device in order to provide students with access to the login screen. Teachers using Respondus or Kiosk will need the four-digit Respondus Password or the six-digit Kiosk Password to disable the lockdown browsers upon exit. The required password can be found in the Technical Readiness checklist. The school administrator must provide this password to all teachers. Teachers will then use that password to enable or disable the lockdown browser. The SEB, Respondus and Kiosk passwords should not be shared with students. Once the lockdown browser is enabled, students can then log in to the e-assessment platform using the access code for the class and their OEN number provided by their teacher.
Alternative access for specific students with accommodations
If the school is using lockdown browsers and a student has an assistive-technology accommodation checked off in the Accommodations and Alternative Version section of the Student Information page and requires particular accessibility software that is not compatible with the SEB, Respondus or Kiosk application, the student will be able to access the assessment by logging in through the EQAO login page.
School administrators will need to indicate which students require the specific software (for their assistive-technology accommodations as noted on their IEP) that is not compatible with either the SEB, Respondus or Kiosk application. Only these students will be permitted to access the assessment through the EQAO login page. Students not permitted to use this alternative access method will receive an error message if they try to access the assessment in this way, and only be permitted to access the assessment through the SEB, Respondus or Kiosk application.
Direct access
This access should be used only in cases where third-party applications (for example, scientific or graphic calculators, graphing software, manipulatives) are not compatible with the SEB, Respondus or Kiosk mode. Through this option, all students in the school will be able to access the assessment directly by logging in through the EQAO login page.
The direct and alternative access option:
- requires no software installation
- allows the use of third-party software
- does not lock down the device (however, when the student navigates away from the assessment screen, the system alerts the teacher, and the teacher should monitor this for potential Academic Dishonesty)
- allows students to continue with the assessment after they navigate away, with less intervention from the teacher
Navigating away from the assessment
When a student who is using the direct or alternative access navigates away from an assessment screen or minimizes a page while in an assessment, an icon will appear next to the student’s name on the teacher’s Invigilation page as a notification that the student has navigated away from the assessment. The teacher will investigate and can dismiss the notification. If the student has navigated away from the assessment for a reason that is likely to impact the validity of the student’s response (for example, consulting an online source for answers to questions), the teacher must use the Report an Issue button.
IMPORTANT
Teachers should use the Invigilation page to frequently monitor students during the assessment.
Note: Above video demonstrates process for OSSLT, but the process is the same for the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics.
Student login process for direct and alternative access
Teachers can advise students to follow the steps below in order to log in:
- Launch the browser and open the EQAO website: www.eqao.com.
- Select Login in the upper-right corner of the web page.
- On the login page, click Login under the Students section.
- Enter the access code and the OEN that your teacher provides, and then click Sign In.