Exam prep
EQAO Grade 9 math: how to prepare for Ontario’s Grade 9 math assessment
What the assessment covers, what each strand is worth, and a plan for the weeks before it.
Correction, October 30, 2026 We corrected how much the assessment counts: from 2026–27, Ontario’s Growing Success policy makes it 20% of the final MTH1W mark. We also corrected the number and kinds of questions, and when you get your report.
Contents
What’s on the assessment
The EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics is a test of Ontario’s de-streamed Grade 9 math course (MTH1W). EQAO, the Education Quality and Accountability Office, runs it. You write it online at school near the end of the course: EQAO sets the windows, and your school picks the days.
| Part | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Sessions | Two, online at school, each about 60 minutes and each in two stages |
| Questions | 54: 50 count toward your result, and four are field-test questions EQAO is trying out |
| Question types | Choosing one answer or more, drag and drop, drop-down menus and typed answers |
| Tools | An on-screen calculator and formula sheet; you may also use your own scientific or graphing calculator |
| How it counts | 20% of your final MTH1W mark, from 2026–27 |
It counts in every Ontario school. The province’s Growing Success policy (opens in a new tab) says “the EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics counts as the written exam for the MTH1W course and makes up 20% of the student’s mark.” In 2025–26, schools could weight it anywhere from 10% to 30%.
What each strand is worth
The 50 scored questions don’t cover the course evenly. Here is how many come from each strand.
- Algebra18
- Number10
- Data8
- Geometry and Measurement8
- Financial Literacy6
Algebra alone is more than a third of the test: expressions and equations, coding, and linear and non-linear relations. If you’re short on time, that is where practice pays most.
How the test adapts to you
Each session starts with a set of questions of medium difficulty. How you do on that first stage decides whether the second stage is easier or harder. So take care with the first questions of each session: they decide which second stage you get.
There’s no pass or fail. EQAO reports your result as a level from 1 to 4, and Level 3 meets the provincial standard. In 2025–26, 59% of students in English-language schools and 66% in French-language schools met it.
When it’s written in 2026–27
| Window | Dates |
|---|---|
| Winter 2027 | January 12 to February 5, 2027 |
| Spring 2027 | June 8 to 30, 2027 |
From the official schedule, checked September 28, 2026. Everything else about the test is on its page: EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics.
Your school schedules both sessions inside the window, and the last two days are kept for students who missed one. Once you’ve written both sessions, your teacher gives you your individual report.
How to prepare: a five-step plan
- Start with EQAO’s released questions. Do a set under real conditions to see which strands slow you down. The goal isn’t the score; it’s finding where to spend your time.
- Rebuild the basics. If fractions, integers (negative numbers) or solving linear equations slow you down, fix them first. The other strands use them all the time.
- Work strand by strand, weakest first. Spend focused sessions on one strand at a time. Between two weak strands, start with the one worth more: Algebra is worth the most.
- Practise on screen with the tools. Use the on-screen calculator and the formula sheet, and get used to dragging and dropping and choosing more than one answer, so the format isn’t a surprise.
- Finish with timed practice. In the last week, practise two sessions of about an hour each, and take extra care with the first stage of each.
Mistakes to avoid
- Cramming new topics the night before. Review and sleep do more than one more topic.
- Memorizing what’s on the formula sheet. Know what’s on it, and spend the time on using it.
- Careless units and rounding. A computer marks your answers, so give the units and rounding the question asks for.
- Rushing the first stage. It decides which second stage you get.
Practising with MapleMind
MapleMind has practice exams for the Grade 9 math assessment, written in its question formats and matched to the MTH1W course. Its tutor explains each question step by step, at your level. It’s free, with 4 activities and 30 tutor messages a day. Writing the OSSLT next year? See our OSSLT preparation guide.
Sources
- EQAO, Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics (opens in a new tab). Checked October 30, 2026.
- EQAO, Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics Framework (opens in a new tab). Checked October 30, 2026.
- Government of Ontario, Growing Success: assessment, evaluation and reporting (Kindergarten to Grade 12) (opens in a new tab), updated October 14, 2026. Checked October 30, 2026.
- EQAO, User Guide for the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics, 2025–2026: Reporting (opens in a new tab). Checked October 30, 2026.
- EQAO, Released questions, Grade 9 mathematics, 2025 (opens in a new tab). Checked September 28, 2026.
- EQAO, Grade 9 Highlights of the Provincial Results, 2025–2026 (opens in a new tab). Checked October 27, 2026.
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