A local parent feels Grade 3 and 6 students should have the option to sit out of annual EQAO standardized testing.
Mario Spagnuolo has a son in the public school board system and says several studies show the tests are too intensive often causing stress and anxiety for the young students.
Current provincial policy doesn't allow parents to exempt their children from the testing.
Spagnuolo, who is also first vice-president of the Greater Essex Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, says more parents need to speak out against the testing.
"It's amazing, the amount of discussion on Facebook. You'd be surprised to hear the stories and the concerns of parents. Unfortunately, not all parents are advocating on behalf of their child. I think we need to give parents a voice when it comes to the standardized tests."
Mario Spagnuolo and his son Gianluca at a Greater Essex County District School Board meeting on May 21, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Zander Broeckel)
He says most students and staff dread having to take part.
"It's a two week period. They're writing a test for 10 hours. It's about 100 minute blocks each day. It really hasn't done anything to improve education. All I see it do is stress out kids and stress out education workers. If the parents don't stand up and say something about it it's going to continue."
Spagnuolo says he's hoping the Doug Ford government is listening.
"We will see what the government does and what the trustees do. I'm hopeful that the trustees will pass some recommendations and put some pressure on the government. If they're looking for efficiencies, this is an efficiency that can happen with the support of, I would put forward, all stakeholders."
Spagnuolo adds the complete elimination of EQAO could save the province big money — the testing costs the education system $30-million annually along with an estimated $70-million in preparation and support costs.
Trustees with the Greater Essex County School Board will discuss the issue at their next regular meeting.