High school students will write exams in almost all subjects starting this fall — including gym, art and tech — and if they have more than two “unexcused absences” in any class they’ll be docked marks, according to new details released by the Ford government.
While the changes have raised concerns of teacher unions and critics who say a one-size-fits-all system doesn’t serve individual student needs, Education Minister Paul Calandra said the reforms are based on what he heard “constantly” from educators while touring schools across the province.
Teachers say “they needed better control of their classrooms — and that certainly at the secondary level, attendance and participation is one way of doing that,” Calandra told reporters Monday at a North York Catholic school after unveiling a new digital platform for classrooms to be used across the province.
“We also heard from a lot of them, too, that a final assessment and exam in a number of the core courses would certainly help ensuring that students have a grasp of what they have learned, and help differentiate between what might be AI-driven and really truly understanding.”
Grade 9 and 10 classes will now have mandatory final evaluations worth anywhere from 10 to 20 per cent — gym, for example, with a 10 per cent written exam and 10 per cent final, culminating assignment — and attendance and participation worth 15 per cent, with class work comprising 65 per cent of the overall mark.
In grades 11 and 12, exams and final assignments will be worth 25 per cent and attendance 10.
“What we’ve had up until now is roughly 70 per cent of a student’s mark was term work, 30 per cent from a culminating” assignment that was at a teacher’s discretion, said Colin Matthew, vice-president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.
“There are a lot of kids who are going to university or who are on some track where a high-stakes exam could be an important skill for them, and then there are a lot of kids on a different track, a different pathway, where subjecting them to a 60- or 90-minute or two-hour exam is really not a skill they are going to need in life. That’s my concern — all the expectations are the same across the province.”
Classroom dynamics “are very different, and student needs are very different,” he added. “When teachers are allowed to try to meet those needs as best they can, I think that’s the best approach.”
Calandra, who first spoke of the attendance and exam changes in April, called the changes “a good balance … but we’ll monitor over the next year and see if refinements need to happen.”
The crackdown comes as statistics show that only 40 per cent of teens are now meeting the attendance standard in high school, which is a 20-percentage-point drop since before the pandemic.
This fall, for attendance, a top “level 4” mark — equal to an A — will be for teens who have two or fewer absences (not related to sickness or for days off due to bad weather, religious observances or school sports) per semester and fully participate in class.
Level 3, or a B, is for those who miss 2.5 to 4.5 classes each semester, level 2 for those absent for five to 7.5 classes, and level one for those who miss 7.5 to 9 classes.
With attendance worth 10 to 15 per cent, “without investing in mental health, special education, and other student supports, this government is creating new barriers for students with disabilities or mental health challenges, and students who are already at risk of dropping out of school,” said NDP education critic Chandra Pasma. Pasma added that students “deserve policies that help them succeed, not a one-size-fits-all rules imposed without meaningful consultation.”
René Jansen in de Wal, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, sees the potential for “more harm than good” when it comes to attendance. “I think the minister is sincere that he wants to have people in classes more, and we share a sincere concern for that. We do see a different route to making that better.”
He said while teachers agree that “there are certain courses where exams should be the default … if you’re in an art class, what if you’re in a phys ed class? What if you’re in a special needs class?” He stressed it should be up to teachers themselves.
As well, he said “I’ve been in classes where there are 24 computers for 36 kids. How are they all going to write exams in that class when they don’t have the resources?”
Some classes, such as co-op, workplace preparation courses or other “open” classes, will not be required to have final exams.
