​The following information will be sent home with all secondary students on Monday, January 13:

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) has announced that they will be taking administrative job action starting on Monday, January 13, 2020.

As a result of this partial withdrawal of services, secondary students in the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board will not be participating in the EQAO Grade 9 math assessment this January, 2020.

All Ontario students who are enrolled in a Grade 9 applied or academic mathematics course are normally required to take the EQAO Grade 9 math assessment.

However, due to this job action, OECTA teachers will not participating in EQAO preparation or testing.

In lieu of the EQAO assessment this term, students will be graded based on term and exam evaluation.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is an independent provincial agency funded by the Government of Ontario. EQAO's mandate is to conduct province-wide test at key points in every student's education and report the results to educators, parents/guardians and the public. EQAO measures students' achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to the Ontario Curriculum expectations.

ALCDSB will await further direction from the Ministry of Education for more information with regards to EQAO testing.