A DISCUSSION OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN US AND ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOLS: WHY ONTARIO SCHOOLS ARE BEHIND THE US CURRICULUM
Any ex-pat move is exciting. The chance to live in a new country and experience its culture is a great experience for most families. However, after the initial excitement wears off, the basic question of finding the right place to live in your new assignment starts to take precedence. One of the most important factors in moving a family tends to be finding the right school for the children. With a Canadian ex-pat move, the choice seems less daunting, as there are no language barriers and few cultural differences to overcome. Many companies pay for private education as part of a Canadian ex-pat package, but some don't, due to Canada's similar cultural experience and same language.
There are important facts for ex-pats to know about the Ontario Public Elementary School system that are difficult to understand in their entirety until you experience them. This information may help you decide what type of school to consider. This essay details what we have learned about the Ontario Public School system and how it is different and weaker than the US/Michigan system. (Comparisons are made primarily to the Michigan Curriculum due to our particular needs).
Indeed, our experience in the Oakville Public Schools has been the only disappointing factor in our ex-pat move to Canada. We moved to Canada as our children entered Grades 1,3 and 6. Upon arriving and experiencing the Oakville public schools we have learned that the Ontario elementary curriculum is behind the Michigan curriculum. This experience has led us to move our children out of their Ontario Public School and to a private school which we believe is much more in line with Michigan standards.
This essay is focused on the differences between the Michigan and Ontario elementary schools and the curriculums they follow. Though curriculums can and should be only a minimal guideline, we found the differences in the curriculum explain why our children found the Ontario elementary schools to be academically unchallenging.
Description of Elementary School Options in Ontario:
In moving to the Greater Toronto Area, and generally throughout Ontario, a family has a variety of educational options, both public and private.
Public Schools
The elementary public school system is quite extensive with a variety of different types of schools that are paid for with public funds. All of these are available to any family that lives in the district. All of these public schools adhere to the Ontario Curriculum, though there are slight allowances for religion in the Catholic Schools and French culture in the French schools. Additionally, all take the Ontario Provincial test, called the EQAO, to determine their comparative performance in the Province. These choices include:
1. Public School English speaking, open to all residents
2. French Immersion Public School Open to all residents. For Anglophones to learn French. Typically start in Kindergarten.
3. Catholic Public School (often called the Separate System) English speaking. In the elementary schools the child must be a baptized Catholic. This is not true in the Secondary Schools
4. French Immersion Catholic Public School Same religious requirement as above but is for Anglophones to learn French. Typically immersion begins in Grade 5.
5. French School - For Francophones with a French cultural focus. There are some requirements for a child to be fluent in French at their grade level before entering, though French speaking parents is not an absolute requirement.
6. French Catholic School Same as above but with the religious component.
Private Schools
There are also a large variety of private school options, including day and boarding options, as well as Religious and non-Religious options, Traditional and non- Traditional. They all require the families to pay tuition. Some of these schools have some support from their religious affiliation/congregation but many do not. They range in cost from approximately $8500 - $30,000 per child per year.
Our Initial Public School Choice and Experience:Prior to our move to the Toronto area, we spent a significant amount of time trying to determine where to move, based on the primarily on the schools, as well as on the other conveniences of life.
Why we Initially Chose Public Schools:Many companies (approximately 70%) pay for ex-pats to utilize private schools in Canada. However, some do not. We decided to try the Ontario public system because:
1. Our company did not offer tuition re-imbursement and Private schools are an expensive investment for 3 children
2. We could find no objective information comparing Ontario vs. US elementary school quality though we checked extensively on the Web, with the US Embassy and with our company's HR department, etc.
3. We assumed, incorrectly, that Canadian schools were at least as good and might even be better than US schools.
4. Our US teachers evaluated the printed Ontario Curriculum for Grades 6, 7 & 8, and due to the generalized descriptions, felt the Ontario Schools were adequate, though different. (Unfortunately, we didn't review the Grade K-5 Curriculum which is done below and shows the issues we encountered.)
5. We consulted as many people as we could find who had some experience with Canadian schools but most were Canadians who couldn't provide adequate comparisons
How we Chose Oakville and our Specific Public School
We chose to live in the town of Oakville, a highly regarded, highly recommended and upscale community, as the first step, in trying to make the Public Schools work. Oakville (pop. 170,000), is part of the Halton School District, which serves four towns and 51,000 students. The Halton School District, and especially Oakville is recognized for being one of the strongest school systems in Ontario. In a 2006 EQAO ranking of the entire Ontario Province, the Halton Catholic Board ranked 5th out of 72 School Boards in the entire Ontario Province. The Halton Public Board ranked 23rd.
Once we decided on the town of Oakville, we took numerous steps to try to determine that we were going into one of the better Oakville schools, as Oakville has over 150 elementary schools, most being JK-8. We reviewed standardized testing scores (EQAO's) from the Oakville schools and considered only homes in school zones that scored in the top quartile of Oakville schools. In the end, we chose to use the Catholic Schools that served the area of town we had chosen to live in.
Our children spent the 2007-08 school year at Mother Teresa School in Oakville. It was apparent within the first month that the Ontario Curriculum is approximately one to 1 œ years behind the Michigan curriculum and the school we came from. Though our children found the school to be generally warm and welcoming, though they made friends and were comfortable in the school, the academics were a repeat of their prior years in the US. This surprising discovery led us to dig deeper into a comparison of the Ontario schools and ultimately to pull them out and put them into a Private School we felt better matched the US education/curriculum.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ONTARIO AND MICHIGAN/US CURRICULUMS THAT RESULT IN A WEAKER ONTARIO SYSTEM In the pages that follow, I review a variety of factors that contribute to the differences in US/Michigan and Ontario education including: including curriculum, teaching approach / execution, and teaching qualifications and guidelines. This information is derived from many sources, primarily curricula information for both Ontario and U.S. schools, discussions with school representatives, as well as personal experience.
MATH
The differences in expectations in mathematics at the lower elementary level are significant. With every grade level, the Michigan Curriculum is significantly more demanding than the Ontario Curriculum. The below chart illustrates the difference in expectations.
MATH
Michigan CURRICULUM VS Ontario CURRICULUM
Gr. 1 - Proficient with Numbers to 110
vs Gr. 1 - Proficient with Numbers to 50
Gr. 1 - Decompose numbers to 30
vs. Gr. 1 - Decompose numbers to 20
Gr. 3 - Read & Write numbers to 10,000
vs Gr. 3 - Read & Write numbers to 1,000
Gr. 3 - Identify place value to 9,999
vs Gr. 3 - Compose and decompose 3 digit numbers
Gr. 3 - Add and subtract
thru 9,999
vs. Gr. 3 - Add and subtract 3 digit numbers
Gr. 3 - Solve division problems involving remainders
vs. Gr. 3 - Multiply and divide fluently to 7x7
Gr. 3 - Multiply and divide fluently to 10x10
vs Gr. 4 - Multiply to 9x9
Gr. 4 - Read and Write numbers to 1,000,000
vs Gr. 6 - Read and print
numbers to 100,000
Gr. 4 - Understand the magnitude of numbers up to 1,000,000; recognize place values
vs Gr. 6 - Solve problems from real life that relate to the magnitude
of 1,000,000
As a note, the Ontario Private School we chose to move our children to, utilizes an Ontario Math Textbook that is for one grade level higher than the students actual grade level, to compensate for this weak Ontario Math Curriculum.
LANGUAGE ARTS
It is much harder to make clear comparisons of the Michigan and Ontario curriculums from a Language Arts perspective, due to the generalized phrasing of the curriculums. However, below I have tried to provide a perspective on issues which make the Ontario Curriculum significantly less challenging. This is focused on Grade 3-6 where we had personal experience with the issue.
WRITING MASTERY
o Ontario - There is inadequate emphasis on writing in our Ontario school. In Grade 3, our child had NO writing assignments longer than 2 paragraphs and had very few of those. There have been no research projects or book reports. In Grade 6, our child has had 2 writing projects.
READING AND NOVEL STUDIES
o Ontario - Our Grade 6 child had one novel study for the entire year.
o Michigan and US - The Portage Michigan School district states that Grade 6 Core students would do 2-4 novels studies per semester and the Grade 6 Plus students would do more than 4 novel studies per semester.
o Sample Canadian Private School - Do at least 4 - 6 novel studies per year.
CURSIVE WRITING
o Ontario -Cursive writing in Ontario was taught the last two week of Grade 3. Grade 6 students are not required nor are they encouraged to use cursive.
o Michigan and US - Cursive was taught in Grade 2, mastered it in Grade 3 and by Grade 4 children were expected to use it.
o Sample Canadian Private School - Taught as early as Grade 1 and definitely taught in Grade 2.
SPELLING AND VOCABULARY MASTERY
o Ontario - Per Ontario Grade 1 and Grade 3 teachers, two years ago the Halton School Board mandated that there be NO spelling and vocabulary tests.
o Michigan and US Schools allow and encourage the use of tools such as Spelling and Vocabulary tests.
o Sample Canadian Private School - Uses the next grades Spelling and Vocabulary workbooks (i.e. Grade 4 students us the Grade 5 Ontario Book)
OTHER ISSUES
Our personal experiences also revealed some significant differences between the Michigan/US teaching approach and the approach we found in Ontario.
1. DIFFERENCES IN TEACHING SUBJECTS AND COURSE LOADS AND USE OF NON-CORE TEACHERS
Ontario - Ontario Public School Teachers in Grades K-8 are responsible for teaching all subjects Core and Non-Core - including, PE, Art, Music, Computers.
o Grade K 5 - Most teachers teach all core and non-core subjects to their homeroom from Grade K 5.
o Grade 6 8 - There may be some attempt at rotary for Grade 6 -8. Specialized teachers are used for French. Other rotary is taught at the discretion of the team of teachers and is not based on teachers' certifications.
Michigan and US -
o Grade K 5 - Most US schools public, private and parochial - have specialized non-Core teachers (PE, Art, Music, Computers) by this age .
o Grade 6 8 - By Middle School, there are not only non-Core specialists, but most Core teachers are relatively subject specific in Michigan:
Teachers teaching Core Subjects (i.e. Math, Language Arts, Science) are required by NCLB laws and local district rules, to have at least a minor (30 credits) in the subject they teach. Most have a major. In most US public middle schools, teachers teach a limited number of subjects (i.e.: Math and Science)
All non-Core teachers have Certifications in their non-core teaching areas
ie: Computers, Art, Music, PE.
2. DIFFERENCES IN MATH PREPARATION
Ontario Through Grade 8 (and even thru parts of High School) , Math is taught in a non-specialized manner. This means that each year, multiple math disciplines will be taught (i.e. algebra, measurement, geometry, etc.) in a general math education approach.
US In many US schools, Math specialization begins by 7th or 8th Grade. This means that students in Grade 7, on a selective basis, are able to start thru the specialized progression of Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II. If your child, spends Grades 7 10 in Ontario, they may find the transition back to the US system very difficult
3. GIFTED OPPORTUNITIES
Ontario - In Ontario, Gifted opportunities start in Grade 5 with a 2hr per week pull-out. There are no opportunities for earlier grades and there are no advanced courses for advanced pathways from Grade 6-8, unless a child is on of the few (approx. 3%) identified as gifter.
US Not all US schools have gifted tracks at the early grades. However, in Portage, MI Grades 2-5 offers tiered gifted tracks and by 4th Grade there is a 3.5 hour per week gifted pull out to a centralized learning center.
SUMMARY
Our disappointment with the less advanced curriculum in Oakville Public Schools has been great. Obviously every family and every child is different and may not have the exact same experience that our children had. However, we are certain that the public school education we encountered in Oakville would not prepare them for the next higher grade in a US public school without additional support and instruction.
After our move to Oakville, ON , we have had multiple reinforcements that our disappointing experience with elementary education in Ontario is not dissimilar to other US ex-Pats utilizing the Ontario Public Schools. Also, we have been told by multiple Ontario teachers, who taught in the US, that the Elementary program here is weaker, especially in Math. We have learned that many of the Private schools use a curriculum more typical in the US and to do so, utilize the text books for a higher Ontario grade..ie: the Grade 6 private school children use the Grade 7 Ontario Math public school text book. From our findings, the Ontario private schools offer a curriculum that is greatly enriched from the Ontario public schools and more inline with the expectations of American schools we have experienced.
As a result of what we learned, we decided to make the very difficult decision to move our children to a Private School in Ontario to finish their education while we are here. This was not an easy choice, but one, we are certain will be to their benefit in the long-run.