Updated Curriculum, New Report Cards Coming to Ontario Schools
Province Modernizing School System to Unleash Full Potential of Every Student
September 7, 2017
Our schools are at the foundation of a fair and competitive Ontario. Today, our province's publicly funded education system ranks among the best in the world, preparing our students for academic and future success. To build on this progress and make our schools even better at unleashing every student's full potential, Ontario is taking immediate steps to give students and parents better information about a child's progress and launching an ambitious multi-year initiative to modernize curriculums and assessment tools from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Premier Kathleen Wynne and Mitzie Hunter, Minister of Education, were at Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute to announce the opening of public consultations for this new initiative and detail the new report cards, which will be introduced in schools for the 2018-19 academic year.
Ontario's updated school curriculum will be developed through the public consultations with the goal of improving student achievement in core skills such as math and increasing emphasis on transferable life skills that can help students of all ages meet the changing demands of today and tomorrow. Communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and global citizenship are skills that will help Ontario students thrive as they grow up in a changing, interconnected world. Beginning next school year, new report cards will better track a young person's development of these essential and transferable life skills.
By consulting with students, parents, teachers and other partners, the province also aims to:
• Help students take full advantage of their education experience with a new curriculum that better engages every aspect of a young person's interests and potential
• Place an increased emphasis on equity and well-being, including the effects that physical activity, bullying and mental health can have on student success in and out of the classroom
• Update provincial assessment and reporting practices, including EQAO, to make sure they are culturally relevant, measure a wider range of learning, and better reflect student well-being and equity
• Enhance parents' access to information about how their children are doing in school.
A comprehensive overhaul of school curriculum and student assessment tools, aimed at making our schools better at unleashing the full potential of every child, is essential to building a fairer, better Ontario.
QUOTES
" I have always believed that our work to build a fairer, more innovative Ontario starts in our publicly funded education system. We have great schools, but we always need to look for ways to make our children’s schools even better. We need to give kids the variety of skills they’ll need in a fast-changing world. This curriculum refresh will build on all the progress we’ve made and ensure we’re giving students the skills, supports and opportunities to make their mark in their careers, their communities and the world."
- Kathleen Wynne
Premier of Ontario
" In order for Ontario to continue to support student well-being and promote equity in our publicly funded education system, we must be positioned to meet the growing and ever-changing needs of all students today and in the future. We will work with all of our partners to ensure students have access to the most current and up-to-date curriculum possible, from Kindergarten to Grade 12."
- Mitzie Hunter
Minister of Education
" Students need a curriculum that focuses on building skills like problem solving and creative, critical thinking. We are pleased that the government is taking a proactive step by providing resources that will help students develop these essential skills and the characteristics needed to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world."
- Bonnie Schmidt
President, Let’s Talk Science, and Chair, Canadian Leadership Taskforce on Education & Skills, Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)
" People for Education is pleased that the Ministry of Education is moving toward a focus on the student competencies that are essential for success in school and life. Our work with Ontario educators, scholars and policy-makers over the past four years has shown how critical these areas are for student learning and success — from Kindergarten right through to Grade 12, post-secondary education and employment. Embedding these “transferable skills” in the curriculum and updating the way we report to parents represent an exciting opportunity for Ontario to take a leading role in the global movement toward broader goals for education and broader measures of success in our schools."
- Annie Kidder
Executive Director, People for Education
" It’s important to ensure students are learning from curriculum that focuses on skills like critical thinking and problem solving. I am pleased that the government is taking a proactive step to provide students with the skills and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly fast-paced, interconnected world."
- Sean Conway
Chair, Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel
" Our diverse, connected world requires students to be critical thinkers and collaborative problem solvers, while understanding global issues and communicating across cultures. We are thrilled to be working with the Ontario government to cultivate these vital skills by putting theory into practice within real world contexts."
- Jan Courtin
National Director of Student Programs, The Learning Partnership
" IBM Canada supports Ontario’s work toward adding these transferable skill sets to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum. As a leader in cloud and cognitive technologies, we aim to employ young people with these skills, paired with modern Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) capabilities, to help us reshape this industry and create a better, brighter future for generations to come."
- Dino Trevisani
President, IBM Canada
QUICK FACTS
• Ontario will invest $49 million over three years to integrate student well-being into all provincial education practices and policies.
• The province’s renewed vision for education will help ensure that all students develop the knowledge, skills and characteristics to become personally successful, economically productive and actively engaged citizens.
• Over 86 per cent of Ontario students are graduating from high school — more than ever before.
• In 2016, 68 per cent of adults (ages 25-64) in Ontario had a postsecondary credential, up from 56 per cent in 2002 — higher than the rate for any country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
• Since 2013, the government has invested $9.3 billion in capital funding for school boards to support more than 120 new schools and more than 140 additions and renovations.
• This public consultation on student assessment will be conducted by the Premier and Minister of Education’s six education advisors led by Dr. Carol Campbell.
|
Singh Gurvinder 9/7/2017 |
Contact: |
|
|
