Whoever forms the next government must keep Grade 3 testing

Watch out, parents.

The Ontario Liberal government has been advised to stop provincewide testing of Grade 3 students in literacy and math.

This is a terrible idea, which is also endorsed by New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath. She has vowed to get rid of all standardized testing, not just in Grade 3.

The Liberal government says it will consult further in the fall before deciding next steps.

And Progressive Conservative party leader Doug Ford says he’ll bring “a better approach” to standardized testing, but hasn’t given details.

For decades, the Education Quality and Accountability Office has tested students in Grade 3 and 6, and in high school.

Teacher unions, especially public elementary teachers, dislike these tests. They say individual teachers are best equipped to evaluate students.

But the fact remains that Ontarians pay $22.6 billion a year for public education. These tests are the only objective quality control we have.

Without them, how can we know if the education system is equipping our children for the future, or failing them?

At least standardized tests give us a picture. And here it is:

Across Ontario, Grade 3 students are making good progress in reading. In 2012, 66 per cent were meeting the provincial standard, and in 2017, 74 per cent were.

In Grade 6, reading ability has also improved, with 81 per cent of students meeting the provincial standard in 2017.

Where the situation gets really frightening, though, is when you look at math. Scores have declined dramatically over the past five years.

Last year, just 62 per cent of Grade 3 students reached the provincial expectation in math skills, down from 68 per cent in 2012.

In Grade 6, only half — that’s 50 per cent — of students met the provincial standards for math in 2017. That’s the same dismal number as 2016, and a steep decline from 58 per cent in 2012.

This is an emergency, in an economy where strong math skills are required for those wellpaid new technology jobs.

How does the education establishment react to this? Not honourably. Instead of questioning teaching methods, they’re trying to remove the information.

Experts at the University of Waterloo, which knows a few things about math, have called for better “foundational skills” (also known as “the basics”) for students.

But the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, which is advising the current government, ignores these experts and instead urges a) scrapping Grade 3 tests; and b) changing the Grade 6 assessment to include more problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

If your child has a learning problem, not knowing about it until Grade 6 wastes precious time for him or her to catch up.

And critical thinking skills are great, but not at the expense of basics like multiplication tables and “math facts” (such as knowing that 7 + 8 = 15 without thinking about it).

Local public school trustees understand the need for data, and recently declined to join other school boards, which were calling for tests to end.

Test results are giving us important information. Let’s not shoot the messenger.