Teaching Too Much Blamed for Dropout Rate

(Toronto, Canada) When students don't learn enough to pass required tests, what can educators do? Well, they can follow the example of the Arizona School System and arbitrarily lower the minimum grade required to pass. Alternatively, they can dramatically decrease the amount of subject material the student is required to learn which is the option that Canada has decided to pursue.

Toronto Star (Reg. req'd):

Ontario has unveiled a kinder, gentler math curriculum it hopes will stem the rising tide of high school dropouts.

The government has made sweeping changes to Grade 9 math, in the more hands-on applied stream where staggering failure rates have been linked to a growing number of dropouts since the tough new four-year high school program began in 1999.

Starting this fall, Grade 9 students in applied math will be expected to master nearly one-third less material while getting more practical lessons. As well, teachers will get more tips on how to make math relevant to teens.

Gone are subjects teachers deemed too abstract for many Grade 9 applied students, such as analytical geometry, the study of the steepness of "slopes" and lessons on the algebra needed to plot a parabolic curve.

When marking, teachers will be encouraged to give more weight to a student's overall comprehension of math concepts, rather than simply follow a lengthy checklist of individual skills.

According to Stewart Craven, Toronto District School Board math expert, the reduction in content is "a phenomenal improvement." Students' learning will be enriched because the "clutter of abstract concepts" is removed and, instead, new Grade 9 students will learn about how math applies to cellphone bills and video rental charges. And, even though course content has been reduced by one-third, it hasn't been "dumbed down." Rather, the changes have removed the "biggest roadblock to graduation for Ontario teens."

One could say that Ontario is spearheading toward education by osmosis. All that's necessary is to reduce course content to a low-enough level whereby a half-asleep student can still absorb enough knowledge to pass the final exam. Interestingly, in addition to removing course content, the teachers are given guidance to forget about giving marks based on a student's skills and pay attention to math concepts. But wait, didn't math expert Stewart Craven state that the clutter of concepts was removed? I'm confused.

With respect to whether the system is "dumbing down," you make the call. Eh?