Curriculum in Ontario outdated, auditor finds
Even computer courses haven’t been updated in a decade, report says
Ontario students are learning from outdated lessons and old textbooks — with curriculum in English, science and even computer studies created more than a decade ago, making them among the oldest in the country, the province’s auditor general has found.
In her report released Monday, Bonnie Lysyk also said that students’ experiences during the shutdown last spring because of COVID-19 led to gaps in their learning that need to be addressed — but she found no concrete plans to do so.
“A substantial portion of the current curricula in Ontario was developed many years ago. In fact, 15 per cent of curricula subjects taught in the province were developed and put into practice at least 15 years ago (2005 or prior), and an additional 51 per cent were released between 10 and 14 years ago,” starting in 2006, Lysyk found.
“Our audit concluded the Ministry of Education and school boards do not have formal processes to enable them to gain assurance the curricula are being delivered consistently to a high standard across the province,” Lysyk said.
“Nor does the ministry have assurance or processes to determine that students are being consistently assessed against curriculum-learning expectations.”
Caitlin Clark, a spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce, said the government is focused “on ensuring the curriculum we teach our children is modern and focused on developing the skills they will need to succeed in the job market and in life” and has “placed a major emphasis on STEM (science/ technology/engineering/math) education and ensuring our students are well rounded by being emotionally intelligent, financially literate, technologically savvy, and ready for the jobs of tomorrow.”
The province, she added, will “continue to modernize Ontario’s curriculum.”
Last fall, the province introduced a new elementary math curriculum, which includes coding in Grade1, with a new high school one to follow. It has added financial literacy, online privacy and social media lessons to the mandatory Grade 10 careers course.
Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said teachers “are professionals, and they are good at what they do.” And while basic concepts may not change, teaching methods do, she added.
Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said “transparency is needed” in updating and implementing new curriculum, and agreed with the auditor who said the government “did not consult, listen or follow standard implementation practice” in recently updating the math and health and physical education — including sex-ed — and also gave educators very little time to implement the changes.
Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said Lysyk’s report “confirms what teachers have long experienced when it comes to curriculum development, implementation, and delivery. The lack of clear criteria to determine which curricula get reviewed contributes to the sense that some curriculum areas are inappropriately politicized by the government.”
He said given the “rushed implementation, lack of pilot programs, poor or absent professional development ... that Ontario still performs so well by international standards” is a testament to their teachers.
When it comes to textbooks, Lysyk found that while they cover most of the content “they do not always reflect current social, political and environmental issues,” noting the current Grade 11 marketing textbook was published in 2003 and “contains several instances of outdated material. For example, the textbook references Future Shop as a leader in e-commerce in Canada; however, it has been five years since Future Shop ceased operations.”
During COVID, the report also notes that schools expected gaps in learning, given that about one-third of teachers reported “not having sufficient evidence to evaluate the student.”
“This means that, in the 2020/21 school year, teachers will need to address their students’ potential learning gaps, which, due to the pandemic and school closures, are greater than the learning gap that typically occurs over the summer break,” the report says.
However, three of four boards included in the audit “had not developed any specific new strategies to help students catch up academically in the 2020/21 school year.”
New Democrat MPP Marit Stiles, her party’s education critic, said the government needs to act now.
“A large number of Ontario students aren’t getting the education or support they need to succeed, teachers aren’t getting proper support, and the extent of these learning gaps isn’t being tracked,” Stiles said.
Lysyk has also called for more clear, consistent guidelines for assessment to ensure students are learning all that is required in each course, noting teachers are only assessed every five years by their principals.
“The advisers we engaged for our audit noted that it is not possible to assess the quality or depth of teaching by reviewing a teacher’s lesson plans,” her report notes.
Abraham, however, said every course curriculum comes with very clear expectations, and teachers ensure children can meet all of them.