Important News - Provincial Math Test

To All Students in the B.Ed Professional Program:

This is an update on what we know about the provincially-mandated teacher math exam—called the Math Proficiency Test (MPT)—that you will be required to complete in order to become a full member of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), after completing your degree.  

• The EQAO will prepare and grade the exam. 
• They are currently developing the test format, sample questions, and associated resources for preparing for the exam. 
• The EQAO does plan on having sample modules for the test prepared in early November. 
• These will be available online and provide feedback on your results. 

To access these modules, and the test itself, you will need to have an OCT number. Our strong advice is to start the application process as soon as possible. Please go to https://www.oct.ca/becoming-a-teacher

The EQAO will run a voluntary field-test of the exam in January. At the time of writing, the OCT and EQAO are allowing students in both Year One and Year Two to take the field-test.

We highly recommend you sit this field-test, for three reasons:

• If you are successful on the field-test, this will count as meeting the requirement of the College. (Yes, you read that right: if you write the practice exam, and you are successful, EQAO will recommend you to the College as having successfully written the MPT!)
• If you are unsuccessful, no record is kept of the result.
• The field-test will help you gain insight to the kinds of questions that will be on the exam just by writing the field-test. 
• The EQAO will give you feedback on your performance—so this should help you prepare for the actual MPT.

Other Important Information: 

• There will be no fee to write the field-test in January. 
• At this time we do not expect to have much involvement with the administration of the field-test; it is being run by the EQAO, and we believe it will likely involve a university setting for ease of access and organization. 
• The faculty will not be involved in setting up the exam.
• We expect the first sitting of the exam itself to take place in April, which again will be free. 
• A third sitting of the test is planned for July.

The government of Ontario has made the decision to proceed with this test. Given the government’s decision, the Deans of all Faculties of Education in Ontario have asked that the implementation of the test be delayed until it can be properly developed and organized, and administered in an equitable manner.

To date there has been no indication that the test will be delayed, and we recommend you start the process to get an OCT number, and to prepare to write the field-test in January.