Ontario could stop separating high school students into “academic” and “applied” tracks.
Premier Doug Ford says we can expect an announcement this week about ending the system, called “streaming”.
Officials with the Ministry of Education say the province’s plan will eliminate streaming by the 2021-2022 school year.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Monday that the practice is discriminatory and racist.
Ontario grade 8 students choose whether to take “academic” or “applied” courses for each subject in grade 9, which lead to either “University” or “College” courses in later grades.
While they are locked in to a track for any given subject until grade 10, they can qualify to switch tracks for a subject when going into grades 11 and 12.
Premier Doug Ford suggests the system sets lower expectations for certain groups of students, and discourages them from going on to university.
Studies have found a disproportionate number of Black and low-income students take applied courses, affecting their chances of going to post-secondary school.
Ford calls the system unfair.
“You’re asking a 14-year-old child to make a decision in grade nine, for the rest of their high school career and post-secondary schools that they’re going to,” he says.
