Media
Release from the Society for Quality Education
More Ontario Students are Able to Graduate from High School
But can they read their diplomas?The Ontario Deputy Minister of Education has just published a four-page letter defending his department against accusations that the province's education department is lowering standards so that more students can graduate from high school. We think the gentleman doth protest too much!
The Society for Quality Education applauds the Ontario government's desire to increase the province's high school graduation rate, but believes that this should be achieved by improving student learning - not by turning a blind eye to cheating, plagiarism, and missed assignments.
“Post-secondary institutions and employers must be able to have confidence in an Ontario high school diploma. It is time to establish objective, independent benchmarks for high school graduation by bringing back provincial exit examinations,” said SQE President, Malkin Dare. "This policy makes life very difficult for teachers who are trying to maintain professional standards," she added
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations reports that first-year university students are less prepared than ever before. Incoming students have lower writing and numeric skills, lower maturity, and a belief that good grades are an entitlement. The Confederation's president noted that the Ontario government has been applauding itself for increasing high school graduation rates but that many of the graduates are inadequately prepared for university.
The Canadian Council on Learning reports that 20 percent of university graduates struggle to understand even the simplest text, and it expects this percentage to increase to 24 percent by 2031.
The Society for Quality Education is dedicated to the significant improvement of student learning in Canada . We invite the public to visit our website www.societyforqualityeducation.org to learn more.
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