Curriculum Review Process

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  • In Ontario, the Ministry of Education is responsible for the development of curriculum policy documents.
  • In 2003 the Ministry established an ongoing cycle of curriculum review.
  • The review is not a development of a completely new curriculum, but is intended to ensure that the curriculum remains current and relevant and is age appropriate from Kindergarten to Grade 12 in all subjects.
  • A number of subject disciplines enter the review process each year.
  • The review supports students, teachers, schools and boards by identifying targeted areas in need of support and allows lead time for development or updating of related support materials as required.

The Curriculum Review Process


The Curriculum Review Process

  • Analysis and Synthesis
    Teams of experts in the subject discipline from across the province analyze the current curriculum against the desired state for the revised curriculum. All information gathered from experts, focus groups, consultations, research and benchmarking is synthesized and directions for revision writing are identified.
  • Revision and Feedback Consultation
    A draft reflecting revised expectations and examples based on the recommendation report, and that reflects current direction in Ontario curriculum, is developed. Regional sessions are held to explain the draft revisions and gather input via a web survey tool.
  • Editing and Publication
    Editing of the proposed draft revisions is done, based on input gathered from the web survey tool. As needed, small targeted revision writing teams refine the proposed draft and focused consultation on final revisions may also be held.

    Experts in the subject discipline review the manuscript to ensure academic accuracy, and final reviews for bias, antidiscrimination, aboriginal perspectives, environmental education, and alignment are conducted to ensure that the manuscript is inclusive and reflects the direction of Ontario curriculum for English and French schools.
  • Training and Implementation
    Once released, board teams are trained about the revised curriculum and provided with supports to conduct board training and implementation specific to the revised curriculum. These training sessions ensure common understanding and consistent messages about curriculum revisions and expectations for implementation.