Technical difficulty

A Grade 10 student was disappointed to receive a failing grade on the writing component of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. She had been permitted to submit the essay portion of the test via computer as an accommodation for her dyslexia, but due to a technical problem, the essay was never received by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). The student’s mother complained to us that EQAO officials insisted that the girl’s only option was to contact her school and arrange to redo the entire test. After Ombudsman staff spoke with EQAO officials, they agreed to review the rest of the student’s test results, which they pro-rated, giving her a passing grade.