Ontario school curriculum changes are connected to a deeper problem, expert says

Ontario proposes counting attendance toward final grades to improve engagement . Critics say students could be penalized for factors beyond their control.

As Ontario changes its school curriculum so that attendance plays more of a role in final marks, one expert hopes the move will shine a light on the root of the issues causing students to miss class in the first place.

Changes to the curriculum announced this week would mean that participation and attendance will make up for 15 per cent of final marks for Grades 9 and 10, and 10 per cent in Grades 11 and 12.

Education strategist, Dwayne Matthews told CTV’s Your Morning this week that the three main reasons students miss have to do with mental health struggles, like anxiety and depression, financial instability at home, and bullying.

He said while changes to the curriculum when it comes to attendance signals that there is a problem, it doesn’t necessarily deal with the problem directly.

“My hope would be that we really focus on dealing with those three things directly,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with the signal itself... it sends a message to parents, to students, to the educators that there is a problem, because it’s coming down from the ministry, but I think it’s just the first of many steps.”

Matthews said he thinks the changes in attendance records will lead to motivated students to use it as an easy way to gain market.

Meanwhile, he thinks it won’t supersede the challenges keeping the students struggling with bullying, mental health or financial instability at home.

Matthews noted that 25 per cent of high school students report being bullied, either cyber or physical, one time per year, which amounts to 150,000 to 200,000 students a year that are experiencing some form of bullying.

“I think this is a canary and a coal mine to a much, much larger problem,” Matthews said, adding that he hopes it starts a larger conversation.

“I think it is a much smaller piece to a much larger problem, and it would be my hope that the ministry is really, really focused on that larger problem,” he said.

With files from the Canadian Press