A disappointing test result can leave a parent with more questions than answers. Did your child misunderstand the topic? Misread the question? Run out of time? Or know the method but struggle to explain their thinking?
For families in Ontario, the best next step is to find out where the difficulty begins. More practice helps when it targets the right skill.
A mark does not show the whole problem
Consider a learner who loses marks on a Maths word problem. They might need help with the calculation, but they might also struggle to identify the information the question provides. Another learner may solve a problem correctly at home but find it difficult to show their working clearly in an assessment.
Reading and writing present similar challenges. A child may read a passage fluently but miss its main idea, or understand it well but give an answer without enough evidence.
These differences matter because each child needs a different teaching plan.
What happens in a Glareminds diagnostic?
We begin by asking about your child’s grade, current school topics, recent work and the assessment you are concerned about. A tutor then uses a small number of suitable questions to observe how the learner works—not just whether the final answers are correct.
Depending on the learner’s needs, the diagnostic may look at:
- Understanding and explaining a Maths method
- Applying a skill to an unfamiliar question
- Reading comprehension and use of evidence
- Organising a written response
- Confidence, independence and recurring mistakes
For a child preparing for Ontario’s Grade 3 or Grade 6 EQAO assessments, we can focus on relevant reading, writing and mathematics skills. For Grade 9 EQAO, the focus is mathematics. We use the learner’s schoolwork and current curriculum expectations to decide what needs attention; the diagnostic is not an official EQAO assessment.
What will parents learn?
After the diagnostic, we provide a brief parent report explaining your child’s observed strengths, the gaps that need attention and the first skills we recommend working on. If you choose ongoing tutoring, lessons can follow that plan, with regular updates showing what your child has practised and what they can now do more independently.
Ontario has introduced more consistent secondary assessment expectations for the 2026–27 school year, including written final exams in most courses. That makes it especially useful to identify difficulties early, while there is time to teach and practise the underlying skills.
Your child does not need a generic stack of practice questions. They need to understand what is holding them back and receive support that addresses it.
Book a free Glareminds consultation. Tell us your child’s Ontario grade, subject and next assessment, and we’ll discuss the right starting point for a focused diagnostic and one-to-one online support.