New Ontario teachers required to pass math test

TORONTO — The Ontario government says all aspiring teachers in the province will be required to pass a math test before receiving their licence to teach.

The Progressive Conservatives have introduced legislation that will make the testing mandatory, although current teachers will not be subjected to it.

Earlier this year, the agency that administers standardized assessments in the province said math test scores among public elementary students in Ontario have been decreasing over the last five years and suggested that efforts by the previous Liberal government to reverse the trend haven’t worked.

Education Minister Lisa Thompson says the new math test for teachers will help improve the education system.

But opposition critics say the government should be bolstering curriculum supports and teacher training instead of imposing a test on teachers.

The government legislation — called the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act — will also increase the tools the body regulating the province’s teachers has to revoke the licence of any educator found guilty of child sexual abuse.

The bill will make it mandatory for the Ontario College of Teacher’s disciplinary committee to revoke a teaching certificate if it finds the educator guilty after a hearing. The government says that currently, a teacher found guilty after a hearing may not necessarily lose their licence.