All students will have to pass this test in order to receive a secondary school diploma. I think it is fair to say that most people would agree that reading skills at a tenth or eleventh grade level would be the bare minimum to survive in today s world. If this is the case, then the EQAO s sample passage is cause for concern. While it is an interesting bit of factual material, it is nowhere near the level we should expect high school graduates to handle with ease. The passage is primarily a very simple piece of expository prose, with limited vocabulary and very restricted sentence structure.
Most sentences are short, declarative sentences, and all begin with the subject.
This passage is less complex than much of the writing found in grade 6 and 7 classroom texts, and much less demanding than textbook material in grades 9 and 10. It is also worth noting that it is possible for students to successfully answer some of the questions without having actually read the passage. As well, before coming to grips with the meaningfulness of the test, it will be necessary to discover what level of proficiency will be required to earn a passing grade. If, as I suspect, the bar will be set very low, students who can write their names will pass. This translates into about 50,000 souls.