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wp 30 -- Scugog Citizen - Tuesday, November 8, 1094 ACCOUNTABILITY DEMANDS THAT WE --. MIAKE A JUDGMENT OF THE PAST -. ANALYZE THE PRESENT -.« AND SET STANDARDS FOR THE FUTURE. 8 WHY DID ONTARIO'S GRADE 9 PROVINGIAL TEST SHOW STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AT AN "ADEQUATE" or BETTER LEVEL? "When the Grade 9 English tests showed were performing at an level, the edi / bureaucracy ch d. A closer showed that stud passed b the was lo d. One prof the true story was that less than half of Ontario Grade 9 hi daC luded that the test was really at a Grade 7, not a Grade 9 level and that ding or better on a Grade 7 reading test." (W-5 REPORT and Toronto Star - Sept/94) Even Premier Bob Rae expressed concen that the students were not measuréd against a "meaningful yardstick". (Canadian Statesman - Nov/94) 8 WHY DO ONTARIO STUDENTS FARE THE WORST IN NATIONAL ACADEMIC TESTING? Wheh compared to the rest of Canada, our Grade 3 students scored at the 47th percentile in reading and writing - meaning they did better than 47% of all students writing the national test but below the national norm of 51%. Grade 5 students fared worse, hitting the 45th percentile (Toronto Sun - Oc/94) B WHY ARE "BIG BUSINESS" AND SMALL PARENT GROUPS CALLING FOR A "BACK TO BASICS" APPROACH TO EDUCATION? Because open-concepl, child-centred (play) learning, whole-language and inventive-spelling has failed a generation of young people. Traditional Schools in B.C., Charter Schools in Alberta and New Brunswick's Education Reform, "AHEAD TO BASICS" Program, all focus on a teacher-directed, subject-oriented system with emphasis on Math, Science (technology), Language and PHONICS. W WHY IS CANADA FALLING BEHIND ASIA IN THE RACE TO PRODUCE THE BEST EDUCATED - AND HENCE THE MOST ECONOMICALLY COMPETITIVE CITIZENS FOR THE FUTURE? Japan is using "teaching techniques" we threw out 25 years ago. CHILD CENTRED & OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION TEACHER DIRECTED ACADEMIC EDUCATION Used exclusively in elementary schools and in high schools in non-core subject areas Presently still used in core-subjects in high schools and in post-secondary programs that have academic content - Chief objectives include the acquisition of values (eg., self- esteem), non-judgmental attitudes, critical thinking, - ie "outcomes" Chief objectives include the acquisition of knowledge and skills in academic subjects and in skills / professional training - Utilizes a loosely defined curriculum permitting students to engage in activities that interest them, and to progress at their own rate of speed. - Requires a topic by topic defined curriculum - presented in sequential grades to students who have acquired the necessary prerequisite knowledge and ability. - Assessment of progress is based on observation, peer evaluation, role play and other "non-threatening" methods - Assessment of progress is based on assignments, etc., and objective tests. + Failure, of the students (and the teachers), to reach objectives is ignored in the belief that learning will "evenualy' occur hd - Failure to reach objectives results in extra assistance on an individual basis and a review of teaching techniques. - Teachers are discouraged from giving direct instruction as this would permit the forcing of one's views and beliefs on others Teachers are encouraged to act as "facilitators" as children learn from each other in small group settings « - Teachers are hired for their competence in specific subject areas and are expected to display leadership and motivation to the students so that learning can occur. Teachers are held accountable for their work as they directly teach the students - All students achieve "success" and are promoted to the next grade each year; a "spiral curriculum" (same topics repeated year after year) supposedly ensures that all students will eventually reach academic goals. - Students who successfully reach' the minimum objectives of the program - ie. demonstrate that they have the ability to succeed at the next level - are promoted to that grade level. Self-esteem results from honest effort and accomplishment. JAMES DOWNEY, President of the University of Waterloo, states that a child-centered approach to teaching is acceptable in kindergarten, but as they proceed through elementary school, students learn best in a more structured, subject-oriented system. They need to get it right early as once off track, children tend to develop negative attitudes to learning that can lead to long-term problems at school. IT'S TIME TO MOVE AHEAD TO BASICS with a strong PHONICS-based reading program; understanding letter sound connection and decoding by blending sounds. READING IS NOT A GUESSING GAME. Every child should be guaranteed, that he/she will not graduate without being able to read, write, spell correctly and have basic math skills. Our 368 million dollar bydget should provide this service. (0. {oI "Th pr {7} PUBLIC SCHOOL TRUSTEE NOVEMBER 14, 1994