View From the Legislature

Every three years Manitoba’s education system gets a report card of sorts. That’s the interval that The Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) provides an across Canada comparison as to how are kids are doing relative to other provinces in the core subject areas of math, science and reading.

The most recent report, released earlier this week, didn’t contain much good news. It indicated that when it comes to Manitoba student’s performance in math (tested at the Grade 8 level) we did better than only one other province, Prince Edward Island. In the area of science and reading, only Yukon students did worse than Manitoba students.

This report sparked strong reaction from some university professors who for some time have been saying Manitoba students are not prepared in core subject areas when they enter university. University of Winnipeg math Professor Anna Stokke said that parents and residents should be “outraged” by the results and cited the need for the province to make changes to the curriculum that is taught in Manitoba schools.

The report also caused the NDP Minister of Education to declare that the results were “unacceptable” and that things must change. That is essentially the same response the NDP issued three years ago when the same report gave equally dismal results.

The fact is that, for whatever reason, compared to other students across Canada our kids are not doing as well. Issues related to class size, composition and curriculum all need to be looked at. And then they need to be acted upon. It’s not good enough simply to declare the results unacceptable every three years and then hope they improve on their own the next time.

We are fortunate to have excellent teachers, staff and assistants in our schools. As a parent of a child now in public school I know this first hand and have been very impressed with the skill and dedication of everyone involved in our schools. It’s up to the province to ensure that these education professionals are able to properly meet the needs of individual students and are provided a curriculum that yields the best results possible.

While the most recent report by the CMEC is not positive, it can still yield positive results. Ultimately, everyone wants to see our young people succeed and we know that they can compete with any students in Canada if provided the right environment. The most recent report could turn a negative into a positive if it spurs the NDP government into the development of a plan to improve the results for the next round of testing. Our kids deserve nothing less.