Ontario vs. B.C. English

Canada’s public education system is both strong and well-funded leading to a high standard of education across the country. While the federal government oversees public education, each province manages their own educational affairs which leads to some variances between provinces. In this research report, Ontario’s curriculum will be compared and contrasted with that of British Columbia.

For students in British Columbia, Distributed Learning (DL) allows students to opt into online courses which allows added flexibility when it comes to choosing courses. B.C. teachers also benefit from flexibility within the new curriculum called “Building Student Success”. While the ministry dictates the content, it is the teacher that decide how to organize the pacing of the course and the teaching methods used. The new curriculum works to modernize education so that students are learning content, as well as skills and abilities necessary in a changing world.

Similarly, Ontario students must also develop knowledge about different technologies and online courses. In order to graduate, students must complete one online course per year. However, there is a cellphone ban in Ontario secondary schools that hope to keep focus on learning and off social media during class time. In order to help all students succeed, Ontario works with organizations like Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and takes their initiatives for accessibility, and mental health very seriously. Ontario implemented the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit studies curriculum in September 2019. Another push for equity came when Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced that the government is investing $40 million “to advance student mental health in partnership with education groups” (News 2019) . These efforts help students with all different needs succeed and feel a sense of belonging in Ontario public schools.

While B.C. is the top performing province, with above average student reading scores , Ontario follows close behind, excelling at integrating immigrant students into schools and earning an “A” for equity in education according to PISA. There are many factors to consider when discussing which system of public education is more successful so the focus in this report will look at how each province approaches the study of English. First, the amount of time allocated to the study of English in each province’s high schools will be explored as well as the ways in which each province streams students in English courses. We will also compare and contrast the standards and success criteria in Ontario’s ENG4U course with British Columbia’s English 12 course. Finally, we will look into the standardised tests that English students must take in both provinces and how teachers are influenced by these tests.

Standards and Time on Task
The theoretical underpinning of English Language Arts in Bristish Columbia is constructivism, where students engage in the process of knowledge construction. The standards are organized into what students should know, be able to do, and understand. There are two curriculum organizers when it comes to learning standards in English: Comprehend and Connect, and Create and Communicate. The standards for English 12 follow this organizational model, and more specifically expect student so be able to read for enjoyment, recognize the role of the story and First Peoples perspectives. Students are expected to use oral, written, visual, and digital texts as tools to know their understanding of these concepts and many more throughout the course. They are expected to know the structures and conventions of language, as well as text forms, genres, features and structures. Another important component students are expected to ‘know’ are the details of Reconciliation in Canada and be able to think critically about the texts that are read in and outside of class. These standards focus on performance assessment where students apply what they have learned into real world tasks. These tasks are assessed with BC performance standards which outlines four levels of student performance. The standards are easily accessible for teachers, parents, and students to reference because they are all available online. There is also a classroom assessment resource package available to help teachers develop their own assessments. They can use the example texts and instructional activities as tools when planning units and deciding on assessments for students. The curriculum website displays each area of learning in HTML and PDF or Word formats which makes them easy to access and print. There is even a search engine that gives teachers the ability to search specific words or grades within the database. With the flexibility of the new curriculum, teachers are encouraged to develop courses in their own ways, whether that be with thematic units or learning outside of the box.

In Ontario, successful language learners are expected to make connections between themselves, texts, and the world around them. They are also expected to understand the importance of language learning, and the power of texts. The expectations are described in the curriculum documents as ‘overall expectations’ and ‘specific expectations.’ The overall expectations outline the standard skills that are required for students to succeed in English courses by speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing and representing. There are strands outlined as well within the English curriculum which are oral communication, reading and literature studies, writing, and media studies. Each of these strands are outlined with specific expectations in the ENG4U course.For instance within Oral Communication, the overall expectations state that ‘by the end of this course, students will listen to understand, speak to communicate, and reflect on skills and strategies. The specific expectations such as using active listening strategies, and interpreting texts are accompanied by teacher prompts. This course has a prerequisite of English 11, University Preparation meaning not all students would have access to this course which contrast BC’s English 12 course, but there are similar expectations for student learning as both courses focuses on using academic language, reading a variety of texts, and developing critical and creative thinking skills. There is a significant amount more written expectations in the Ontario ENG4U course which means that there is more room for BC teachers to develop courses in their own way. The Ontario curriculum seems very standardised in comparison. The curriculum documents in Ontario are separated by grade and subject and available online in PDF format as one large document. There is a significant amount of information regarding planning and student achievement before getting to the course descriptions. The BC courses in contrast each have their own specific document which makes it easier to navigate.

Streaming English
Streaming has been argued to influence students’ attitudes about school for both the better, and the worse. This makes it an important distinction between the way that public education is structured in B.C. and Ontario. One of the focuses of the new curriculum in British Columbia is that there is added flexibility in education overall. In high school, this means that students are able to select their own courses and are not restricted to certain courses due to grade or streaming. In order to graduate, students must complete a Language Arts 10, 11, and 12 along with 9 other Language credits of their choice. Even within their required credits, students have some choice over which course to take. For instance, there is a choice between English 12 or First Peoples 12 as their required grade 12 course. Because they are not streamed, all courses are open to all students. The courses are not designed to have easier or more difficult pathways. Instead, all courses allow for the implementation of a variety of teaching methods so that all students can access all courses. This affects the student makeup in English courses because students can be in a course with peers of different ages. The hope is that teachers view the students as one group of learners instead of students defined by age or grade.

There is a very different structure set up in Ontario schools. Once students enroll in courses, they are set on pathways depending on the type of course. Grade nine and ten students can choose academic, applied, or essential courses which can guide them towards university level classes or college level classes. When students enter grade 11, their course are referred to as university, college and workplace classes. University level classes aim to develop skills that will benefit students in university, whereas college level classes focus on more practical knowledge and skills. As part of the program, students in grades 11 and 12 must take one compulsory course in English in each grade. While Ontario students do have some choice in their English courses, there is less room for flexibility in the current structure compared with B.C.’s new curriculum.

Testing
An important aspect of the new curriculum in British Columbia is the core competencies of communication, creative and critical thinking, and personal and social competence that are expected to develop throughout learning. There is more emphasis being placed on assessment than in the past and it is being viewed differently in the new curriculum. There is an expectation for teachers to view assessment as an ongoing action. However, there are 3 Provincial Graduation Assessments for students. One is a numeracy assessment and 2 are literacy assessments that students undergo in grade 10 and 12. While preparing for standardized tests like these can take away from instructional time, the tests are supposed to be cross-curricular and stand alone. Passing these assessments is necessary for graduation but students have 3 opportunities to pass the test so teachers would be able to work with students to better their scores and reflect on where they need to improve. Within the classroom, the new curriculum calls for assessment to be infused into the learning process with students and teachers co-constructing assessments. The hope is to create life-long learning who take ownership over their learning.

In Ontario, teachers also use ongoing assessment practices to give students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning. Ontario teachers are encouraged to give clear, descriptive feedback to students and have a variety of assessment types. There are assessments for learning, assessment as learning, and assessments of learning. By using all three types of assessment strategies, teachers are able to recognize when a student is not grasping a concept prior to a large final assessment. Another assessment in Ontario is the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) which students must pass in order to graduate. If they do not pass this test in grade 10, they can rewrite the test or they can take a course in grade twelve to make up for the test. Because there is only one chance to rewrite the OSSLT it is a higher-stakes test than the B.C. literacy tests. Additionally, the OSSLT intrudes more on instructional time because students may need to devote an entire course to the OSSLT if they are not successful in passing the test.

Conclusion
In conclusion, both provinces are leaders in Canadian education, and for good reason. Overall, both provinces attained “B” grades on OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment and both are constantly reflecting on their curriculum and teaching practices. This leads to new curriculums being developed in both provinces on a regular basis to keep public education relevant and rigorous. In order to keep up with the changing needs of students, both provinces have integrated technology and online learning into schools and both provinces are concerned with developing creative, and critical thinking skills in English.

Some structural contrasts of the education systems that are important to note are that B.C. students are required to attend school from age 6 to 16 and can start at 5 years old whereas Ontario students are in school longer, starting as early as 4 years old and staying until they are 18. Another important difference is that while Ontario class sizes are increasing to 28, BC class sizes on average remain significantly lower. So while there are many similarities, and both provinces can boast strong public education systems, BC’s smaller class sizes, new flexible curriculum, and the fact that students can access all courses make me prefer the BC system to that of Ontario.


Works Cited
Canada, The Conference Board of Canada. “Education and Skills.” Education Provincial
Rankings - How Canada Performs, 2014,
www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/education.aspx.
Columbia, British. “BC's New Curriculum.” English Language Arts 12 | Building Student
Success - BC's New Curriculum, 2019,
curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/english-language-arts/12/courses.
Government of Ontario, Ministry of Education. “English.” English, Government of Ontario,
2019, www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english.html.
Government of Ontario, Ministry of Education. “What's New.” Untitled Document,
Government of Ontario, 2019, www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/new/new.html.