ben levin, canada

An Ontario Perspective on Education Policy and Practice

Asia Society/CCSSOWashington, April 2010

Ben LevinOISE – University of Toronto(with thanks to Michael Fullan)

Ontario

• 13 million people• 2 million students

– Very diverse – 25%+ foreign born

• 4,000 elementary. 900 secondary schools• 72 local school districts from very small to very

large• 4 distinct, self-governing systems• 120,000 teachers, fully unionized, 4 unions• 5% enrolled in private schools

Ontario in 2003

• Stagnant student achievement in literacy and numeracy

• Declining high school graduation rate• Much public conflict• Growing private school enrolment• Low morale of teachers and administrators

Ontario — 2009

• Literacy and numeracy achievement(including higher order skills) increased by 13 percentage points

• Number of low performing schools cut by 75%• High school graduation rate increased from 68% to

79% - 20,000 more per year• Attrition rate of new teachers in the first four years of

teaching has declined by two-thirds from 32% to 9%• Ownership, commitment and capacity to go deeper

is strong

Ontario Strategy

• Unwavering commitment from the top• Three simple goals – better outcomes, greater equity,

improved public confidence• Guiding Coalition monitoring implementation• Change in the Ministry of Education/ capacity to engage in

implementation• Partnership with the sector• Focus on collective capacity building with link to results• Transparency of results and practices• Reduce distractors including establishing long-term

(4-year) collective agreements

The Content

Moral purpose with respect to raising the bar and closing the gap for the well being of children

–Literacy–Numeracy–High school graduation–Early learning

(The above are deeply defined to include higher order skills and associated instructional innovation)

Implementation Strategies

• High standards• Clear, accessible data• *Collective capacity building• Transparent accountability (re results of practice)

*The most powerful strategy and typically the most underutilized

The Reinforcers

• Resolute leadership• Respect for the sector• Communication• Reduce the distractors

Directional Solutions

• Individual capacity is arithmetical;collective capacity is geometrical

• Capacity without serious delivery = squandered reform

• Delivery without capacity = superficial reform

• Collective capacity + serious delivery = outstanding reform

• Collective capacity is an investment in the long-term health of the system

Barber & Fullan, 2010

Incentives That Work for Teachers

• Reasonable salaries• Decent surroundings• Extensive professional learning• Opportunity to work with and learn from others• Supportive and even assertive leadership about the agenda• Getting helpful feedback• Reasonable class size• Long term collective agreements (4 years)• Realizable moral purpose

Leithwood (2006)

In Sum

• Have a clear strategy• Ground it in evidence • Focus on doing it• Get lots of feedback and adjust• Respect and work with partners