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Canadian Education, a top priority

I'm absolutely incensed... I read today that 32,000 (25%) of grade 10 students failed a basic english skills exam! That means roughly 25% of grade 10 students are effectively illiterate! Now as scary as that is (if you need to ask why that's scary you may be part of that 25% and should seek a Montesouri or independant learning centre) the response from politicians and educators is worse.

They complain that these test results will demoralize the students and lead to higher drop-out rates!!! Their solution... get rid of the tests! Are these people serious! Let us follow the logic here:

a- 25% of students are failing basic english skills exams.
b- If something isn't done the drop-out rate will increase, as will the number of students failing to graduate.
conclusion- Get rid of tests.

Let's not bother trying to figure out why the students are failing, let's get rid of the indicators that tells us their failing. It's not that our glorious education system could be deeply, deeply flawed and useless. It has to be that the tests are messed up and biased.

If I worked off of that premise when my car failed a mechanics test I'd be riding the bloody TTC in quick fashion. I am sick and tired of hearing teachers complain about the system. I am fed up with their childish tactics of striking every time the Boards so much as contemplate education reform. If teachers and left politicians are so concerned about the future generations and their education, why in the hell do they continually defend the system and blame all the problems on the sinister and evil school boards?

Don't get me wrong. I think the unelected and elected officials at the Boards are equally small minded. But it's begining to look like a battle of ego's, and not a discussion to actually fix the education system.

Bah,
Fats

i think it is a possibility that the stats don't tell the truth. I assume that we have a decent number of people that are in canada in grade 10 that are new to speaking english or their english skills suck. You need english to succeed in life...

yay i passed

errrrrr i did not make myself clear.

ROFL....

there are a lot of new people to canada that are in school with weak english skills, that probably accounts for some of them. But also i wonder what the standards are for the this testing.

w00t, i passed too, but i know someone that failed...and its not because he's illiterate...he can read and write, but its just like passing an english test

i think that the school system is flawed, my english sucks and i'm having a hard time in grade 11 english now, because in the previous years, we didn't really learn much about anything.

did the skills tests count for any marks..?? i remember being back in highschool when they issued these PRovincial tests that didn't count for anything .. most kids didn't treat them seriously ..

so in effect this could instead mean that 25% of Grade 10 skool kids dissed the exam ..

they don't count as in you are graded and you recieve a mark and it affects your average. they just tell you basically if you passed or if you failed...but it is required that you pass the OSSLT(i think thats what they call it) to graduate from high school...however i don't think that last years test actually counted.

too bad we don't have something like the SAT"s in the US .. i'm guessing that this other test u mentioned is just so u can go to university but does it actually affect ur changes of gettin in depending on ur grade .. ?

what other test? I thought i was only talking about the literacy test? you need to pass this to graduate from high school

quote:

Originally posted by piggy what other test? I thought i was only talking about the literacy test? you need to pass this to graduate from high school

sorry .. the literacy test .. that's what i meant. do you just pass it to get into uni or do you have to get a good grade too ? cuz maybe if uni's based entry on the grade level of the test then some kids might try harder to get a good mark as opposed to simply wanted to pass it ..

nope, its pass or fail, and you need this to graduate from high school...and i'm assuming, just assuming, that you will need to have graduated from hichshcool to get into university.

hey piggy what school do you go to?

i go to thornhill secondary

oh yeah, they threaten us with this volunteer work garbage...i mean wtf?? when did all adolescents become criminals?

and yeah...we need to complete 40 hours to graduate

nah.....threats in canada are listening to celine dion's cd's on repeat

quote:

Originally posted by Flec hey piggy what school do you go to? i go to thornhill secondary

I go to Unionville High School

oh really? we might be playing you guys in soccer so if unionville plays Thornhill then look for #20

sighs.....

wishes he could still play soccer without pain......damn cartilage.

Cool!

Hmm I know what would bring these test scores up, exactly what they did to me in Germany, they smacked me with a ruler. I don;t know if u gys beleive in discipline liek that but it worked for me. When Iw as 12 years old I realized why they did that to me because I sw what happened to the kids that did not have that. they were flunking n stuff and doin g really bad things like smoking already and weed. I am not saying EVERY child needs this. but It hink the troublesome could use it. Just my opnion anyway. not flaming any Highschool tas here don;t worry I am sure u are all good students.

in canada we have laws agaisnt that :P

with our school funding, our schools can't afford rulers!

quote:

Originally posted by E*Master Hmm I know what would bring these test scores up, exactly what they did to me in Germany, they smacked me with a ruler. I don;t know if u gys beleive in discipline liek that but it worked for me. When Iw as 12 years old I realized why they did that to me because I sw what happened to the kids that did not have that. they were flunking n stuff and doin g really bad things like smoking already and weed. I am not saying EVERY child needs this. but It hink the troublesome could use it. Just my opnion anyway. not flaming any Highschool tas here don;t worry I am sure u are all good students.

omg, if any teacher did that to me these days, i would rape him/her in the ass right there on the spot just cuz i'm evil.

sorry, couldn't pass up and opportunity to be gross and obscene

quote:

Originally posted by torontotrance i think it is a possibility that the stats don't tell the truth. I assume that we have a decent number of people that are in canada in grade 10 that are new to speaking english or their english skills suck. You need english to succeed in life...

True, but there it is possible to be 'functionally illiterate'. That is you can read and write, but very poorly, and still get by. I write for a living. I am often hired by companies to rewrite documents that have been written originally by executives, and when I get the document you could swear it was written by a five year old. I don't pretend to be a great writer. I consider myself to posess basic english skills.

What some people pass off as passing is appaling. People who make 6 or 7 figure salaries, who are born and raised here, would fail these exams. Not because the tests are flawed or the stats are skewed, but because the people are just getting by on basic skills. Now you can argue that as long you are getting by everything is good. But do we really want to live in a society where the bare minimum is standard? God know's that worked so well for the residents of Walkerton...

Cheers,
Fats

quote:

Originally posted by torontotrance errrrrr i did not make myself clear. ROFL.... there are a lot of new people to canada that are in school with weak english skills, that probably accounts for some of them. But also i wonder what the standards are for the this testing.

well...possibly. But common sense would have it that those people wouldn't write those tests, no?

then again, common sense and the canadian government don't go together...

so true

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