EQAO Standardized Examinations: An Inequitable Measure of Academic Success for Food Insecure Students

Abstract

In Canada, food insecurity is characterized by the consumption of low quantity or low-quality foods, worrying about food supply and/or acquiring foods in socially unacceptable ways, such as begging or scavenging. As of 2012, approximately 15.2% of Ontario, Canada, children are living in food insecure households, a prevalence which has remained steady since 2005. This is particularly concerning when considering that school-aged children are a population whose growth and developing is sensitive to nutritional stress, and the experience of childhood food insecurity is highly associated with the development of adverse physical, mental and learning outcomes. This study aims at establishing the relationship between food insecurity and Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) standardized test scores in order to highlight the incompatibility of the EQAO's reliance on test outcomes in determining Ontarian school's accountability, specifically for those with a high prevalence of food insecurity.

Citation

Karoui, O. (2022), "EQAO Standardized Examinations: An Inequitable Measure of Academic Success for Food Insecure Students", Chitpin, S. and White, R.E. (Ed.) Leading under Pressure (Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 71-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-358-220221006