The streaming in Ontario education has been around since the late 1800’s. Secondary schooling was split into two streams, high schools, the “lower” stream, and collegiate schools, the “higher” stream.
It was intended to prepare students for the two major options of post-secondary schooling. But changing the pathway once selected in grade 8 has proven difficult for many students. Not only that, but research has proven that students from lower income homes, black, indigenous, disabled, or special needs students are more likely to be placed in applied or locally developed streams.
“De-streaming addresses this inequity by ensuring that there are high expectations and equal opportunities for all students entering grade 9,” explains Christine Giannacopoulos, a superintendent of student achievement at the thames valley district school board.
“[It makes sure] there is a common landing point for all grade 9 students to ease and improve the transition from elementary to secondary school. ”
Math and science courses will be be offered as de-streamed versions of the course with a more collaborative focus on learning. English, French, and Geography will be taught at the academic level.
As for why only math and science are being de-streamed, Giannacopoulos explained that those two courses expand into various pathways once students enter the last two years of high school.
“Those were the choices that the ministry thought should be de-streamed first so that they could align the curriculum…in order to be able to to allow students their best success in those more senior courses”
The question on a lot of parents minds is how de-streaming the classes will help students, or how students who need more or less of a challenge will fare. Cassie Tamminga, a math teacher at SDCI explains that “when we implement excellent teaching strategies like the thinking classroom,” which is a teaching strategy where students are able to work in groups at vertical whiteboards.
“We have more time to engage learners and use their instructional assessment and assessment strategies from their IEPs, one on one with students while we deliver challenges in other parts of the classroom at the same time.”
Grade 10 is planned to be de-streamed in future years, while the university stream and college stream will remain for grades 11 and 12.
More information can be found here on the TVDSB website.
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