Grading the Liberal Government’s Education Agenda (Queen's Park Update)

The Liberal  government has  passed  the halfway  mark of its second term. With less than two years before the  next provincial election,  will   its  record  allow  Premier Dalton McGuinty to retain his “Education Premier” moniker and secure re-election for a third term?  Education issues played a  key  role  in  past Liberal victories. In  2003,  the party campaigned on restoring labour  peace in education, undoing the   Harris  government’s catastrophic cuts  to school board budgets, and respecting teachers. In 2007, Progressive Conservative Party leader John Tory’s proposal  to fund faith-based schools gave the Liberals an issue  to campaign against.  The  current set  of  education policies  working  their  way through Queen’s Park is  a  mixed bag.  ETFO has  achieved some important gains and continues working to  ensure the  voices of educators are heard in the early  stages of policy development.

FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN
In October the government  announced their plan for  full-day  kindergarten, which ETFO supports and worked hard to   shape. The decision came almost two  years after  the  appointment of  Dr. Charles  Pascal as the Early Learning  Advisor and several months after the release of his report. The Pascal report, released in June, presented a bold vision for children’s services that went far beyond the  original   Liberal  campaign promise for  full-day kindergarten. The recommendations reflected ETFO’s  key policies with the exception of   the   staffing  model:  Pascal  proposed limiting  teachers to a  half-day in  each kindergarten classroom.

In  response, ETFO conducted a  public opinion   poll   that   reinforced  what  past   research has shown: nine  out  of  10  Ontarians think it’s important that full-day kindergarten  programs be delivered  by certified teachers. We also made  the case that limiting teachers to a half-day would undermine their  ability  to  effectively  assess and report on  student progress. Ultimately, the government  agreed. Recently Education Minister Kathleen Wynne was asked by TVO television host Steve Paikin why the  government went with  a teacher-led staffing  model. She replied that  it was the  best pedagogical model.

THE LIBERAL ACCOUNTABILITY AGENDA
When  the  Conservatives were in  power (1995-2003),  teacher federations  were confronted  by a series of  simplistic policies implemented  in  the name of increasing accountability. These included provincewide student testing, teacher recertification, the teacher qualifying test, and the elimination of five professional activity days. The Liberal government  repealed most of the Tory education policies that ETFO had lobbied against, but it has adopted its own accountability  agenda, one that causes us some concern.

EQAO TESTING
The Liberals have made some positive changes to the EQAO tests, but the tests continue to make it  difficult  for  teachers to  provide a  balanced curriculum that  goes beyond the  basic literacy and numeracy focus. ETFO  has  opposed the tests since their introduction. We have pointed to the original  recommendations  from the  1995  Royal Commission on Learning that called for a sample- based testing program designed  to be a check on the system, not to  evaluate individual students. The government’s  unrealistic political objective  of  having  75  percent of  students meet or exceed  the  Level  3  standard is  creating  pressure  on  schools.  With  the  incessant push  for classroom-based  data, teachers don’t  have  time to absorb the information and apply it  to their teaching and assessment strategies. The government is persisting with this emphasis at a time when other jurisdictions —  like the United Kingdom and Alberta —  are backing  away and cancelling a major portion of their standardized tests. Ontario is also pursuing its  policy in the face of growing criticism from the academic community  and provincial parent organizations.

SCHOOL INFORMATION  FINDER
The School Information Finder is an ill-conceived government website that  profiles each school’s EQAO results along  with  demographic data  on income levels, parent education, and the number of immigrants  living in the community.  The website,  launched in  the spring, encourages  school- by-school comparisons based on EQAO results and is  another   example of  a  skewed accountability agenda and a  misuse of  EQAO data. The organizations  that   form  the   minister’s  stakeholder consultation group, including all  of  the  parent organizations, overwhelmingly oppose it.

LOCAL GOVERNANCE  LEGISLATION
The latest accountability policy is  Bill  177,  the Student Achievement and School Governance  Act, 2009.   The  bill  proposes to  clarify  the  responsibilities of school boards,  trustees, board  chairs, and directors of  education. The intent  appears reasonable  but, if  passed, the bill will give the government  expanded  regulatory    power  over boards.  Of specific concern is a future regulation that may let the government  take a board over if  its  students fail  to meet certain achievement levels. While the Minister of Education insists this authority would be used  only on rare occasions, it has the potential to seriously undermine local governance.  Furthermore, future  governments could use the authority in far different ways.

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF BUDGET PRESSURES
Given Ontario’s  financial deficit, the decision to proceed with full-day,  everyday  kindergarten  was a bold and positive move. The program  promises to  boost  student  development and   academic success over the  longer term.  This  investment stands in  contrast to the millions spent on the so-called accountability measures. In the context of limited resources,  the time is ripe to cut back on these initiatives and focus on investing in programs that truly contribute to student learning.

The next provincial election will take place in the second year of the five-year roll out of the kindergarten program.   The government is  probably right in banking on this popular initiative to boost its re-election chances. If  it were to  reconsider its  problematic  accountability  measures,  it would stand a better chance of winning the support of  educators and parents and of  retaining the political capital it has earned with its earlier education reforms.