With Good Reason

The McGuinty government’s Ministry of Education is at war with itself. On the one hand, they want provincial standardized test results and school rankings to improve. On the other, they want to increase graduation rates.

So, to increase the numbers of students graduating from high school, they have implemented a student “success” strategy — also referred to as the “no-fail” policy — whereby students are able to pass their grades and courses even when they have done little or sub-standard work.

However, the problem with that approach is that when students do not learn the skills and content needed to do well in course work, they also do not do well on provincial standardized tests. Lest there be any doubt about the effect this no-fail policy is having on the system, see this link at MendEd  regarding an Owen Sound Sun Times editorial titled: “It’s time to slam the door on the no-fail policy in education.”

And, therein lies the McGuinty government dilemma and why they are at war with themselves. One policy (no-fail) is making the second (to increase a school’s rankings) impossible. So, what will this government do?

Well, according to Moira MacDonald’s column today in the Toronto Sun (H/T Catherine), they will use a “heavy hand” and  ”take over” individual boards. And, unbelievably, as MacDonald writes regarding the “consultation paper” the government just sent to all Ontario school boards, they are actually asking board stakeholders themselves to identify what indicators should be present for such a government take over.

So, what are the McGuinty government’s long term goals? Do they want to eliminate elected trustees? Do they want to micro-manage school boards from Queen’s Park — as they are already doing right now? And, do they want to completely eliminate the concepts of excellence and failure from our schools?  

In the meantime, while all this intimidation is going on,  just how are school administrators and classroom teachers supposed to pass all students while simultaneously making sure they have the requisite skills to do well on the provincial standards tests? Will they have to, as MacDonald mentioned in her column, resort to fudging test results?   

I certainly hope not. But, whatever the case, Ontario’s opposition leaders, Andrea Horwath and Tim Hudak have to do something NOW. They shouldn’t wait for the Legislature to return in the fall.

End Notes: Some background for those who have not read about this issue before. See here, here and here (on the Iowa study which proves the no-fail policy does not work in the long run). I have also written about Bill 177 (which is scheduled to become law in the fall) and whether or not it is intended to thwart school board trustees.

C/P at Crux-of-the-Matter.