News Release

New demanding curriculum to put students at the head of the class

June 13, 1997

Mississauga – Ontario students in grades 1 to 8 will read, write and spell at an earlier age and have sharper problem-solving skills, under a new and more rigorous curriculum introduced today by Education and Training Minister John Snobelen. The math and language components of the new curriculum will start in all Ontario schools in the fall.

"By taking the lead in new curriculum development, we're responding to parents' concerns that Ontario students are not keeping pace with their counterparts in other countries and other provinces," Snobelen said. "Rigorous curriculum, combined with regular testing, and standardized report cards will allow parents to see how their child is progressing from year to year."

The New Ontario Curriculum replaces the Common Curriculum introduced by the previous government in 1995. Parents and teachers found it to be too vague and broad and it resulted in an uneven patchwork of local curricula developed at the board level across the province, Snobelen said.

Under the new curriculum, for example, students will be expected to write in simple and complete sentences using proper punctuation by the end of Grade 1. By the time they finish Grade 3, they will have learned how to organize their information in short paragraphs with correct use of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Similarly, in mathematics, students will be expected to do two-step problems with decimals in Grade 5 and understand exponents in Grade 7.

"Education is a priority for this government. Our goal is to have the highest achievement in Canada," Snobelen said. "This rigorous and challenging curriculum – which spells out exactly what children should learn in each and every grade – will raise the standard of education for all students in Ontario. From now on, teachers and parents will have a clearer understanding of what children should learn and what they should be able to demonstrate in class and on tests."

The new curriculum is the centrepiece of the province's education reform, which is designed to improve student achievement and increase accountability to parents in the education system. Snobelen also outlined plans for teacher training for the new curriculum, starting with orientation sessions this summer.

See also:

• Curriculum Highlights
• Background information: Excellence in Student Performance
• The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language, 1997
• The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Mathematics, 1997