Toronto, ON, Oct. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ontario Teacher Candidate Council and the Trent Education Student Association have created a unified front among Teacher Candidates in Ontario to push back against the Ford government’s newly imposed Math Proficiency Legislation. The legislation requires Teacher Candidates to successfully complete a math proficiency test to obtain their Ontario College of Teachers certification. (Bill 48, subsection 18 of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996: Regulation 271/19) This proposed testing does not evaluate a Teacher Candidates ability to be an effective, supportive and empathetic teacher and it negates equitable assessment for Teacher Candidates. "I will NOT let a STANDARDIZED MATH PROFICIENCY TEST determine my ABILITY to be a TEACHER!"-Brittney Vandersel, OTCC & TESA
Currently, Teacher Candidates in both Year 1 and Year 2 enrolled in a Bachelor of Education program in Ontario are required to take the test. The government has proposed that EQAO will test Teacher Candidates through an online multiple-choice format on both math pedagogy (30%) and math proficiency (70%). The legislation will be in effect for applicants completing their Ontario College of Teachers application on or after March 31, 2020.
We are asking the Minister of Education and the Ford government to reconsider the timeline for implementation to allow students who are choosing teaching as a career to enter supportive academic streams and to provide adequate resources and funding for Faculties of Education to create support courses in math proficiency for Teacher Candidates. Not only are we asking for equitable versions of the math test, we are requesting a redesign that includes strategies from Growing Success, Learning for all and the Ontario Math Curriculum rather than contradicting their own mandated educational guidelines and practices that set precedence in the educational framework in Ontario.
We are asking for the government to provide tangible evidence that testing Teacher Candidates in math proficiency will directly affect student math scores in Ontario. “It's black and white. Standardized tests do not represent complete understanding and knowledge.”- Meredith Tibando, OTCC, TESA.
We strongly suggest that the Government of Ontario retract the legislation and reconsider the timeline for, and the necessity of a math proficiency test. We recommend that the Government of Ontario reassess the pedagogy underpinning the math proficiency test and who this testing will truly benefit. “Education is about building RELATIONSHIPS with students and good PEDAGOGY, a math proficiency test does not do this!" -Matthew Walker, OTCC & TESA
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