TORONTO — Ontario's effort to scrap an educational practice that has historically discriminated against students from marginalized communities will get underway next fall, the province's education minister said Thursday.
Stephen Lecce offered scant details about the plan, first announced earlier this week, to eliminate "streaming" for those entering high school. But he indicated the province's math curriculum would be the first to do away with it.
The Progressive Conservative government said it was committed to addressing systemic discrimination by ending the practice, which currently forces Grade 9 students to commit to either an applied or academic course of study upon entering the secondary school system.
The practice has drawn criticism at home and abroad for decades, with opponents contending it disproportionately funnels Black and other racialized students into the applied stream, limiting their future prospects and worsening inequity in the province's education system.
Lecce did not say if or when other subjects would be officially "de-streamed," but said ending the practice for Grade 9 math students marked the first step on the road to a more equitable education system.
"The facts are clear — students who are enrolled in applied courses are over four times less likely to graduate," Lecce said at a news conference. "It's time we end this practice and give a fair chance to all of our kids."
Lecce said the province's plan was modeled on a recommendation from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which has said students should not be forced to choose between academic and applied courses of study until later in their high school career.
He did not say what approach Ontario is planning to implement or when it might take effect.
Lecce said the province is planning other education-related reforms, such as mandatory anti-racism training for education workers and stronger sanctions for those who discriminate against students.
He also reiterated the government's commitment to ending suspensions for students in junior kindergarten to Grade 3 who commit minor infractions.
The government has acknowledged that both streaming and suspensions have disproportionately affected racialized, low-income and disabled students.
Canada's largest school board, for instance, has found several striking disparities.
The Toronto District School Board has reported that 47 per cent of its Black students are currently enrolled in applied courses, which typically do not lead to university studies. That number falls to roughly 20 per cent for the rest of the student body.
"It's the racism of lower expectations," Lecce said. "It's not really believing in their potential. We need everyone in the system to start doing that."
One advocacy group that has been speaking out against streaming for years said the newly announced plans represent progress, but also raise questions.
Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, said she was puzzled by the decision to end streaming in only one subject, even as a starting point.
"Streaming is about students being in a number of subjects all together in one stream," Kidder said. "They may all be in academic math, but if certain groups of students continue to take all their other compulsory courses in applied, we will still have streaming."
Both Kidder and the government said some Ontario school boards have already begun taking steps to address concerns related to streaming, often with tangible success.
The Toronto board, for instance, launched a pilot program at a handful of schools in 2015 that encouraged more students to pursue academic programs.
A board report indicates that program, which was ultimately expanded, led to a significant spike in academic-level enrolment rates among racialized students.
The board said its ultimate goal is to see the majority of Grade 9 and 10 students thriving in academic courses by September 2021.
"Success in an academic program has been proven to be an instrumental measure of future success," the report read. "Student experience in secondary school is a critical stepping stone to future post-secondary education opportunities that, in turn, largely influence people’s economic and general life chances."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2020.
Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press