(Canada) Ontario: Students increasingly not proficient in math (or literacy)

Sept 23, 2017, Toronto Sun: Ontario’s low math scores suggest an education crisis http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/23/ontarios-low-math-scores-suggest-an-education-crisis The more results that come in from Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) about student proficiency in mathematics, the greater the concerns grow. Bad enough only half of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in math last year, while only 44% of Grade 9 students in applied mathematics did the same. Now we learn in the Toronto District School Board, only 28% of Grade 9 students in applied mathematics met the provincial standard. These results are unacceptable given that, as the Fraser Institute recently reported, public spending on Ontario’s education system rose by 36.6% to $26.6 billion in 2014-15, compared to the previous decade, while student enrollment fell 5.4%.... Premier Kathleen Wynne, McGuinty’s successor, last year earmarked $60 million for a “renewed math strategy” to improve on all these results, which have been declining for years. ... But whatever is causing these low and declining scores in math, simply throwing more money at the problem while introducing “global citizenship” courses and new report cards, all of which cause tremendous disruption to the education system, isn’t the answer. … But mathematics isn’t the only problem. Only 44% of Ontario Grade 9 students in the applied stream met the provincial literacy standard last year, the same as mathematics. What are the Wynne Liberals planning to do about that?