EQAO computer glitch frustrates students, province vows to find cause

Provincial officials are scrambling to figure out why Ontario's brand-new online system for standardized tests crashed on Thursday, leaving students expressingfrustration that a literacytest they'd prepared for was cancelled without warning.

The glitch affected morethan 100,000high school students, including Saverio Lomonaco, who is in Grade 10 at Neil McNeil High School on Victoria Park Avenue near Kingston Road in Toronto.

• Ontario literacy test cancelled after 'widespread technical issues' hit new online system

"Going into the test you have a mindset...but after waiting for hours you start to goof around and lose it after a while,"Lomonaco told CBC News Thursday.

"The government being the government, I think they'd be able to better organize this system, this test," he said.

It was the first time the test was being offered online in a "field readiness" evaluationof the new system.The Education Quality and Accountability Office(EQAO)runs provincial tests and isinvestigating the cause of the glitch.

"We spent like three hours trying to get on computers trying to take the test, so it kind of sucked," said Jack Dean, anotherGrade 10 student at NeilMcNeil.

"After waiting so long, Ididn't want to take it anyway, so it's kind of a relief."

Government critic pounces on flaw

Education Minister Mitzie Hunter is promisingto make the result of theinvestigationpublic.

"What's important is they're going to look into what happened and make sure they're ready for the spring," she said, referring to the time when the next literacy test is scheduled.Students must pass it to graduate.

When asked if she expects EQAOto get the system fixed in time, Hunter said:"Yes, I am confident in their abilities."

But PC education critic John Yakabuski isn't so confident.

"This government ...everytime they roll out something new it's beset with problems," Yakabuski said,pointingto the new welfare computer system thatgeneratedmillions in incorrect payments in 2014.