Transition from school to work

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) is concerned about the transition of students from school to work (CMEC, July 8, 2016); so am I, and so are many parents, grandparents and employers that I talk with. The media release implies that it’s a student problem; I see it differently and believe that the problem stems from the rigidity of the school system. The CMEC plans to address the transition problem through a “pan-Canadian student transitions reference framework’; I’m not sure what the phrase means but it sounds complicated, expensive and bureaucratic. Based on the above alone, I don’t hold out much hope for improvement, however, in support of the Ministers’ efforts, here are some observations on the matter arising from my experience in education and conversations with employers. If schools are preparing young people to enter employment, why not survey employers as to competencies that they want or need in their workforce? Educators may also consider consultation during the identification of outcomes, representation on advisory committees, surveys of new workers and informal contact on regular basis. We need a more open curriculum development process; for example, I’ve been looking for a description of the curriculum development process, a curriculum development handbook, standard lists of outcomes and/or competencies and even plain research on the various options. So far, I’m still looking. The use of outcomes as a basis for curriculum development demands changes in the way we measure and report student achievement. William Spadey, an outcomes guru, refers to the need for “externally referenced criteria” when measuring performance; that means using the same or similar criteria in school as are used outside school (in real life). The switch from traditional assessment is not an easy one but the benefits of using outcomes cannot be realized without it. More needs to be done to remove the confusion around school grades and achievement levels. For example, to assign a person in Grade 11 a mark for Grade 11 math when teachers know that the student is performing at a Grade 7 level misleads the student, the parent, school authorities, employers and anyone else who uses school marks as a measure of achievement. The current system may serve administrators but does nothing for students. It is time to disconnect performance levels from grade levels and, if we can have only one classification, let it be performance levels. I commend the CMEC for its attention to the issue; I urge them to act promptly and to consult with employers as part of their examination of the transition issue. They may also want to consider changing our assessment focus from credentials to qualifications or even establishing a qualification framework similar to that of most other developed countries. Don Glendenning, Charlottetown