In order to ensure the confidentiality of individual student results and to discourage generalizations about school and board performance based on very small populations, EQAO has established a minimum number of participating students for the public reporting of achievement results. As a result, schools and boards with very few students participating will have no results posted publicly. Similarly, reports for boards and schools with very small numbers of students participating in one group may have no results provided in some sections of their public report.
The minimum number of participating students for publication of achievement results is 15. The minimum number of respondents for the release of questionnaire results is six. The EQAO term for the application of these rules is "suppression."