a case study of teacher candidates’ experiences: writing the pilot math proficiency test in ontario, canada

The focus of this article is on the introduction, justification, and enactment of the mathematics proficiency test (mpt) by the provincial government in ontario, canada as a mandatory certification requirement for newly certified teachers. this article contextualizes the sociopolitical factors leading to the enactment of a mpt for newly certified teachers, developed and administered by the education quality and accountability office (eqao), which was ostensibly to mitigate the trend of declining math scores in elementary schools. it then shifts to examine the experiences of the first cohort of teacher candidates from a canadian university who participated in writing the pilot mpt in february and march of 2020. data was collected via survey responses administered through qualtrics software. survey invitations were sent to all teacher candidates who graduated in 2020 or 2021 with 50 of the 130 eligible teacher candidates responding. a thematic analysis of survey responses was conducted to discuss emerging findings about teacher candidates rsquo; experiences before, the day of, and after writing the mpt as a case study. on december 17, 2021 the ontario superior court of justice ruled the mpt unconstitutional due to having an adverse impact on entry to the teaching profession for racialized teacher candidates.