During the Operational Assessment

This section gives instructions on how to administer, invigilate and manage assessment sessions.

If your school is using alternative secure access, ensure you have the SEB or Kiosk password before starting the assessment. This password can be found in the school administrator’s checklist. The school administrator must provide this password to all teachers. You will need to enter this password on each device before completing the steps below.

Summary of Steps During the Operational Assessment

Supports for Students During the Assessment

Refer to the Supports for Students During the Assessments section for information on the types of support permitted.

Administering the Operational Assessment

On the day of the operational assessment, follow the steps below to administer an assessment session.

Note: To open an assessment, it needs to have been scheduled in the e-assessment system. For instructions on how to schedule the operational assessment refer to the Scheduling the Operational Assessment section.

1. Log in to your teacher account.

2. To open the class, click Select Class. 

3. On the Assessments page under ACTIVE ASSESSMENT select the operational assessment you have previously scheduled.

4. Once the operational assessment has opened, you will be redirected to the invigilation page.

For more detailed instructions on how to invigilate the operational assessment refer to the section on Invigilating the Operational Assessment.

5. There are two methods to provide students access to the assessment on the e-assessment platform.

a) If your school is using the Direct Access method, have students login in directly from the EQAO website. First, students must select the Login button on the top right corner and then select the Login button in the student section. A page will open for students to enter their class access code and OEN. The class access code and the student OEN can be found on the invigilation page. The access code will be in the pink box in the upper-right corner, and the OEN can be found by clicking Show OEN beside each student. Once logged in, students will have to enter their last name to access the landing page of the assessment.

b) If your school is using the Alternative Secure Access method, the SEB or Kiosk program will need to be started and the password will need to be entered for each device. School administrators can find this password on the Technical Readiness page in their account. Entering the password will open the page where students can log in to the assessment using your class access code and their OEN. The class access code and the student OEN can be found on the invigilation page. The access code will be in the pink box in the upper-right corner, and the OEN can be found by clicking Show OEN beside each student.

Refer to Accessing the E-Assessment System and Platform for more information.

6. Once students have completed the entire assessment, the assessment session must be closed. On the invigilator page, click the Submit student responses to EQAO button found at the top of the page to begin the process of closing the assessment session. Refer to the section Submitting Student Responses to EQAO for more information.

Assessment Day Scripts

Please read aloud the language or mathematics script to your class before you unlock the session or stage and begin the assessment.

The sessions for language and the stages for mathematics must be completed in the order in which they appear in the e-assessment platform, and each session or stage must be completed in one continuous assessment sitting.

Note: An assessment session or stage may include supervised water, stretch and washroom breaks.

Refer to the section Duration of Assessment Sessions for detailed information.

Invigilating the Operational Assessment

Once the assessment session has opened, you will be redirected to the invigilation page. 

This page is where you will monitor and manage your students’ progress throughout the operational assessment. The image below shows a sample invigilation page. The descriptions below the image correspond to the letters in the image.

A. Access Code (for Assessment Session): Each class will have an access code for the assessment that students will need to enter each time they login to complete any session or stage.

B. List of Students: This is a list of all students currently enrolled in your class for this assessment session. Beside each student name is the student’s OEN which can be seen by clicking Show OEN. During the assessment, you can see which students are currently logged in and which are not by their login status. Refer to the section Monitoring Student Progress while Invigilating for more details.

C. Unlocking Sessions and Stages: A session or stage must be unlocked by the teacher for students to start it. Select the lock icon associated with the session or stage you would like students to complete to unlock it. Only students present in class should have the session or stage unlocked. Refer to the Pausing an Absent Student section for further instructions on how to lock the assessment for a student who is absent.

D. Locking a Session or Stage: If you need to lock a session or stage for an individual student (for example the student is absent or requires a supervised break), select the lock icon associated with the individual student for the session or stage you want to pause. When the student returns, you can select the lock icon again to unlock the session or stage. Refer to the Pausing for absent students section for more information.

E. Unsubmitting a Session or Stage: If a student accidentally clicks Submit before completing a session or stage, the teacher can “unsubmit” it within the same continuous sitting. To unsubmit, click on the blue Show Unsubmit Session/Stage Button at the top of the page. Refer to the Unsubmitting a Session or Stage section for more information.

F. Submitting Student Responses: Once all students have completed all four language sessions and all four mathematics stages, click the Submit student responses to EQAO button found at the top of the page. Clicking this button will close and end the entire assessment for all students. Refer to the Submitting Student Responses to EQAO section for more information.

G. Reporting Issues – Refer to the Reporting Issues section for further instructions on how to report an issue to EQAO.

Locking/Unlocking a Session or Stage

Each session or stage must only be unlocked for students who are currently being supervised. As soon as the continuous sitting is completed, the session or stage must be locked. Sessions or stages for absent students must be locked individually so that they are not able to access the assessment. Refer to the section Pausing for Absent Students for more detailed instructions.

In order for students to access a session or stage, it will need to be unlocked. Select the lock icon associated with the particular session or stage you would like to unlock for students. This will unlock the session or stage for everyone.

At the end of any continuous sitting or any time during the assessment session when all students need to have their access withdrawn (e.g., a fire alarm), click the unlocked icon for the particular session or stage.

When students have finished a session or stage and they have submitted, the session or stage will be locked for them. This will be indicated with a checkmark beside each student’s name on your invigilation page.

If you have planned to complete more than one session or stage at a time for your class, you can unlock the next session or stage and students can move on to it directly when they have completed the previous one. This will allow you to have students complete different sessions or stages at a time. You do not have to wait for everyone in the class to be finished before starting the next session or stage. You can also provide a break between sessions and stages and wait to unlock the next session or stage.

If a student has not completed a session or stage during the suggested time, you can leave it open so that the student can continue in the same continuous sitting. Any students receiving extra time must continue to be supervised.

Pausing and Resuming an Assessment

Once you have started a session or stage, you can pause or resume the assessment for either an individual student or the entire class at any point (e.g., for a supervised break, absent student, fire alarm). This will allow the student(s) to return to the assessment later.

Pausing for an Individual Student to take a Supervised Break

Whenever a student needs to take a supervised break (e.g., washroom, water, stretch) during the assessment, select the unlocked icon associated with the individual student, for the session or stage you want to pause. This will lock the assessment while the student is away from the assessment.

When the student returns from their break and needs to continue with the assessment, you may unlock the session or stage for the student. To do this, click the lock icon associated with the individual student. The student will return to the last question that was answered when the session or stage was locked.

Note: If the student submitted the session or stage before you locked it, you will not be able to unlock it. Refer to the Unsubmitting a Session or Stage section for instruction on how to unsubmit a session or stage if a student accidentally submitted prior to completing it.

Pausing for an Absent Students

When one or more students are absent for a session or stage, their session or stage will need to be locked.

After you unlock a session or stage for a class, (refer to the Locking/Unlocking a Session or Stage section) you will need to select the unlocked icon associated with each student that is absent to relock their assessment so they cannot access it while they are not being supervised.

When the student who was absent returns to complete the missed session, you can unlock it for that student. If you unlock the next session or stage for the class, any student that has not yet completed the previous session or stage will not unlock.  You will need to individually select the lock icon for the session or stage you would like that student to complete.

Pausing an Entire Class

When issues arise during the assessment (e.g., fire alarms) or a supervised break is required, the assessment can be paused in two ways.

Option 1: Select the Pause Session button found at the top of the invigilation page. This will pause the assessment for the entire class.

When the entire class is ready to resume the assessment, select the Resume button to continue.

Option 2: Select the unlock icon associated with the particular session or stage you would like paused for the entire class.

When the entire class is ready to resume the assessment, select the lock icon for the particular session or stage you would like to unlock. You will need to lock the session or stage for those students that are absent. 

Unsubmitting a Session or Stage

Students are required to complete each session or stage in one continuous sitting. In some cases, students may need to go back to complete questions in a session or stage. Teachers are permitted to unsubmit a session or stage for a student to complete part or all of the assessment, if the situation follows the guidelines described below or if EQAO has given the teacher approval.

Guidelines for Unsubmitting a Session or Stage

A teacher is permitted to unsubmit a session or stage only if unsubmitting the assessment aligns with the Professional Responsibilities and does not affect the validity and reliability of results, and:

• The student is in the same continuous sitting and submitted the session or stage accidentally before completing all the questions in the one or both stages.

OR

• The student unexpectedly stopped during the assessment (e.g., illness or technical issue) and the student is not in the same continuous sitting, but the student will continue from the point in the assessment they stopped and only answer questions they did not access in the previous sitting. The teacher must supervise that the student does not review or change responses to previously reviewed or completed questions.

OR

• The student used the alternative version and their responses which were to be entered into the e-assessment platform were submitted in error prior to completing this.

Note: Unsubmitting a session or stage will not clear student responses for the questions they have already completed. For the assessment of mathematics, if the student is in the same continuous sitting and the student reviews, changes or completes responses in Stage 1 or Stage 3, then they may be routed to a different set of questions in Stage 2 or Stage 4, respectively. If this is the case, the questions in Stage 2 or Stage 4 will be different and the student will need to complete those stages again. Any responses to questions that were common to the original routed stage and newly routed stage will be saved if the student completed those questions.

Other Requests: If the situation is not outlined by these scenarios, then the teacher is not permitted to unsubmit the student’s responses unless they receive approval from EQAO. To make a request to EQAO, report your issue as “other”. Unsubmit requests that fall under the “other” reason category will be reviewed by EQAO. Your unsubmission request will not take effect immediately. Requests where the unsubmission affects the reliability and validity of the assessment or that do not align with the Professional Responsibilities will not be approved.

A session or stage can only be unsubmitted if the student responses have yet to be submitted by the teacher. If you have already clicked Submit student responses to EQAO, a new assessment will need to be scheduled and started before a student’s session or stage can be unsubmitted. Refer to Scheduling the Operational Assessment for further instructions.

Steps to Unsubmitting a Session or Stage

1. 1. Before you unsubmit a session or stage, have the student log out of the website or Kiosk or close the browser in which they are logged into. You will be able to verify if a student is logged out by looking at the student’s status which should indicate offline.

2. Click the Show Unsubmit Session/Stage Button at the top of the page.

Note: If a student is not logged out of the e-assessment platform, a pop-up message will appear at the top of the invigilator page which will not allow you to unsubmit the session or stage. If this happens, please verify that the student has logged out of the system completely.

3. Once you have selected the blue Show Unsubmit Session/Stage button, the title on button will change to Hide Unsubmit Session/Stage button and an unsubmit icon (a rectangle with an x) will appear next to each student’s submitted session or stage.

Select the unsubmit icon for the session or stage that you would like to unsubmit. Unsubmit only if the scenario is one of the ones outlined above. If the scenario is not, you must receive approval from EQAO prior to unsubmitting.

Note: It is recommended to unsubmit one session or stage for a student at a time.

4. After selecting the unsubmit icon, a pop-up will appear asking you if want to unsubmit a student’s session or stage.

Note:  As the mathematics component of the assessment is adaptive, if you unsubmit a stage and a student edits or completes questions in Stage 1 or Stage 3, they must review their questions in Stage 2 or Stage 4 as well in case they receive a different set of questions.

Once you select Continue, a second pop-up will appear asking you for a reason for unsubmitting a session or stage. Select a reason from the options provided or chose “Other” and type a reason in the text box. Once complete, confirm the action to unsubmit a session or stage for a particular student by typing “yes” in the input box and selecting OK to continue the unsubmit process.

Note:  If you selected Other, you must wait for EQAO’s approval to unsubmit the session or stage. This will not be done immediately and will take approximately one day to receive approval.

5. After unsubmitting a session or stage for the student, the session or stage you unsubmitted will now show a lock icon on the invigilator page. If you hover over the lock icon, it will indicate Not Started. To allow a student to re-access the session or stage, select the lock icon. If a student completed a session or stage after the one you have unlocked, the checkmark beside the student’s name will no longer appear.

Note: Unsubmitting a session or stage will not clear student responses and student progress will remain saved. If a student edits answers or responds to additional questions in Stage 1 or 3 of the mathematics assessment, they may be routed to a different Stage 2 or 4, respectively.  If this is the case, Stage 2 or 4 will have different questions and therefore students will need to complete the unanswered questions in this new routed stage.

6. When the icon has changed to an unlocked icon, students will then be able to restart the unsubmitted session or stage.

Reporting Issues

School administrators and teachers must report issues to EQAO that may affect the security, validity or reliability of the assessment. All issues should be reported through the teacher invigilation page.

Issues Requiring Immediate Technical Support

If the issue requires support to allow the student to start or continue the assessment, please report it on the teacher invigilation page using the Report an Issue button. Select the Technical Support category or phone 1-888-327-7377 for assistance. Issues reported in the Technical Support category will automatically be forwarded to the technical support team for immediate follow-up.

Issues NOT Requiring Immediate Technical Support

If the issue does not require immediate technical support (e.g., the student has already completed the assessment or can continue despite the issue) but may affect the student’s results or the security of the assessment, please report it using the Report an Issue button. Issues that are not time-sensitive will be reviewed by EQAO at the end of the administration dates. EQAO will investigate and consider these issues before student results are released.

Issues That Do NOT Require Reporting to EQAO

Issues that have been resolved and do not affect the validity and reliability of a student’s results or the security of the assessment, do not need to be reported to EQAO.  

Issues that do not need to be reported to EQAO:

• The Internet stops working during the assessment, but the students are supervised during this time. When the Internet issue is resolved, the students are able to go back into the assessment and continue with the assessment.
• A student appears to be offline but is actually completing the assessment online.
• The device a student is working on stops working, but the teacher is able to provide the student with another device and the student continues with the assessment.
• A student takes out a phone for personal reasons, and the teacher is satisfied the phone has not been used to assist with answers to the assessment.
• A student uses the device or site they regularly use to access manipulatives, and the teacher supervises this use.
• A student is absent and does not complete all or parts of the assessment.
• A student response appears not to be saved. (Note: Student responses are automatically saved in the system. At times there will be a delay between the teacher invigilation page and the student’s progress.)

How to Report an Issue

Once you click the Report an Issue button, you will select the category that best applies to the issue. Below are the three categories and their descriptions:

1.Technical Support: Any system issue that affects the ability of the student to continue the assessment. These issues are automatically forwarded to the technical support team for immediate support.

Examples:

• The teacher encounters a technical issue that prevents the students from continuing.
• A student encounters a technical issue and cannot log in to the assessment.
• A student is in an assessment session or stage and unable to proceed with the next question.
• A student is not able to access assistive technology and needs support to continue the assessment.
• A student is unable to submit the current session or stage.

2. Student Response Issue: Any issue that impacts a student’s ability to respond to a question but does not prevent the student from proceeding with the assessment.

Example:

• A student reports a glitch in the system associated with a specific question.

3. Administration Anomaly or Academic Dishonesty: Any issue that affects the validity and reliability of the student’s results must be reported to EQAO. These issues may not be investigated by EQAO until the end of the administration dates.

Examples:

• A student copies answers from others or from outside sources.
• A student accesses the assessment in an unsupervised setting.
• A student logs in and completes the assessment with the wrong OEN.

Ensure you provide all the details of the issue (e.g., topic; if applicable, the number of the question and session or stage).

Select the student or students affected by the issue.

Steps to report an issue:

1. To report an issue which may affect the validity or reliability of a student’s results, click the Report an Issue button at the top of the invigilation screen.

2. A pop-up will open with an explanation of the types of issues that can be reported. Select OK to report an issue.

3. A second pop-up will open allowing you to identify the issue that is affecting a student’s ability to complete a question or questions or that may affect the validity of a student’s results. Select the category that best identifies the issue.

4. After an issue under Reported Issue Category (1) is selected, clearly describe the issue in the Report Issue text box (2). Ensure you provide as much detail as possible when describing the issue. It is important to identify the affected session or stage as well as question number to aid in the investigation of the issue.

5. It is important to select the affected student(s) name from the list (3) that appears below the Report Issue text box. Then click Report (4). If no students are selected, the issue will be associated with the entire class.

Note: Once you have reported an issue, the details are recorded in the system. It is not necessary to follow-up with EQAO or technical support to ensure your request has been received. If you require immediate assistance, report it here or call 1-888-327-7377.

Students Completing the Operational Assessment After a Scheduled Assessment Session

If there are students who were unable to complete the operational assessment during the scheduled assessment session, they can still complete the assessment provided it is within the EQAO administration dates.

If the teacher has not closed the operational assessment by submitting student responses to EQAO, the active assessment can still be administered and accessed by the students who have not completed the assessment. 

If the teacher has closed the operational assessment by submitting student responses to EQAO, a new assessment will need to be scheduled. Refer to the section Scheduling the Operational Assessment for more information on how to schedule and open a new session.

Have students complete only the sessions or stages that were not completed in the previous operational assessment session. Refer to the section Administering the Operational Assessment for more information.

When all students have completed all sessions and stages of the assessment, close the operational assessment again by clicking the Submit student responses to EQAO button. Refer to the Submitting Student Responses to EQAO section for more information on how to close the operational assessment.