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Supports for All Students During the Assessment

All students can have the following resources and supports, in addition to the built-in accessibility features and tools.

Permitted resources

  • headphones for listening to questions
  • white noise or calming music
  • a pencil, eraser, ruler and paper for rough work
  • an additional calculator, including a scientific or graphing calculator with or without computer algebra systems
  • manipulatives or virtual applications, including online manipulatives, graphing applications or calculators, that are not instructional and that students use on a regular basis
  • a hard copy of the EQAO Formula Sheet
  • a hard copy of the EQAO English–French and French–English Glossaries

NOTE 
Instructional materials that facilitate responses to questions cannot be used during the assessment (for example, an application that contains a glossary). However, classroom displays do NOT need to be altered for the assessment. 

Permitted supports for all students

  • additional time
  • a quiet, individual and/or small group setting
  • preferential seating
  • prompts, either a tap on the desk or a verbal signal, for students who are off task
  • supervised breaks (e.g., water, stretch and washroom breaks), as long as a session (two stages) is completed in one continuous sitting
  • verbatim reading of instructions and/or questions by an educator or scribe
  • the text-to-speech tool built into the e-assessment platform

Built-in accessibility features and tools 

All students have access to a set of accessibility tools located on the student toolbar in the e-assessment platform: 

  • a help menu
  • a text-to-speech function that reads aloud the text on the screen
  • zoom-in and zoom-out capabilities
  • a line reader that helps students focus on one line of text at a time
  • a high-contrast view
  • drawing tools (highlighter, line tool and eraser)
  • a calculator
  • EQAO Formula Sheet
  • EQAO English-French and French-English Glossaries

TIP
The EQAO Formula Sheet and Glossaries are accessible in the Documents tab in the e-assessment platform and students can also have hard copies of these available during the assessment.

All students will also have access to virtual relaxation exercises and reminders of test taking strategies.

NOTE 
For specific supports and accommodations for students with special education needs, unique circumstances or English language learners, please refer to the Accommodations section.

Updated on February 14, 2024