2012 Submission to the Commission on
the Reform of Ontario's Public Services
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) appreciates the opportunity to
participate in the discussions being held by the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s
Public Services. ETFO represents 76,000 elementary public school teachers and
education professionals across the province and is the largest teacher federation in
Canada.
Public Sector Jobs
ETFO understands that Ontario is facing challenging economic times and that the
government is carrying a considerable debt burden. A review of public services to
identify potential efficiencies is reasonable, but the federation cautions against targeting
public services as the primary strategy for deficit reduction. Corporate and individual
income tax policy should also be addressed to identify additional revenue to mitigate the
deficit. Program cuts should be considered not only as a means to reduce government
expenditure but also for the long-term effect of increasing unemployment, reducing
income tax revenue, and negatively affecting the quality of life of the average Ontarian.
Public sector jobs are an important component of the middle class and contribute to
sustaining communities – large and small—across the province. A significant cut to
public sector employment could therefore work against the goal of economic recovery
and further exacerbate the widening income gap in Ontario.
Public Sector Salaries
Public sector wages, like those in the private sector, are cyclical but tend to lag behind
changes in the economy because they are often governed by contracts of multi-year
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duration. Over the past eight years, collective agreements in the provincial education
sector have, for example, been settled for four-year terms. Since 2002 or 2003, public
sector wages have increased more rapidly than private sector wages, but public sector
wages increases lagged behind private sector increases between 1993 and 2001.1 The
recent gap between public and private sector increases can partially be explained by
the loss of well-paid manufacturing jobs, particularly following the 2008 global financial
crash. There is also a smaller gender gap in public sector salaries as a result of
broader pay equity in the public sector.
Public sector contracts are, nonetheless, directly influenced by current rates of inflation.
The attached excerpt from a 2009 Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) document
demonstrates how the maximum salary of our members employed by the Toronto
District School Board, the largest school board in the province, followed the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) trend lines between 1980 and 2008, the most recent year for which
the data is reported on by CTF. Toronto salaries are similar to those in other Ontario
boards. As we approach the next round of bargaining, ETFO is cognizant of the
economic climate and the pressure to live within a reasonable limit of restraint. In order
to avoid salary erosion, the Federation expects to negotiate a rate of increase for our
members that does not go below the current rate of inflation and keeps our members’
salaries comparable to the salaries of educators employed at the secondary level and in
the French and Catholic school systems.
1
Hugh Mackenzie, “Steering Ontario Out of Recession”, OAB 2010 Technical Paper, Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, March 2010.
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Ontario Investment in Elementary Education
The current provincial government, led by Premier McGuinty, has made considerable
investment in the education sector since being elected in 2003. Much of the investment
initially went to restoring some of the funding cuts imposed by the previous government.
Additional funding was also allocated to support two important policies: smaller primary
classes and, more recently, full-day kindergarten. Not all cuts implemented by the
previous Tory government were restored. Programs such as special education, Englishas-a-Second Language, design and technology, physical education, and the arts
continue to be shortchanged at the elementary level. Per pupil elementary grants are
considerably lower than grants for secondary students. Because of the historic funding
differential between elementary and secondary education, elementary education does
not offer many opportunities for efficiencies.
Primary Class Size and Full-day Kindergarten
According to media reports, the Commission’s draft report has identified primary class
size and full-day kindergarten as potential areas for cutbacks. Cuts to these programs
would be short-sighted and defy the research that supports investment in the early
years. Both programs are linked to providing individual students with more attention
and support, early identification of special learning needs, and engaging all students to
be successful life-long learners.
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Class Size
The research on smaller classes is varied, but, overall, points to significant benefits.
Until recently, Ontario education policy makers have relied on research conducted in the
United States where student populations and demographics are not necessarily
comparable to Ontario. Ontario’s primary class size policy has provided the opportunity
for Ontario-based research.2 The early research demonstrates that smaller classes
have enabled teachers to provide more individual attention to students and employ a
greater variety of instructional strategies. Students with the greatest educational needs
benefit the most from smaller classes, but the improved learning environment benefits
all students. Smaller classes have contributed to improved student behaviour and peer
relationships. All these outcomes have contributed to improved student engagement
and achievement in the early grades. These factors, in turn, will contribute to increased
graduation rates and the accompanying savings from fewer students staying on beyond
the required four years of secondary school.
The research further suggests that smaller class size could have an even greater
impact if there was a more systematic adoption of teaching strategies and practices that
take advantage of smaller classes. The focus should be on extending professional
learning opportunities to primary teachers to maximize the benefit of smaller classes not
on backing away from one of the most important current education reforms. Beyond the
academic research, our members have informed us directly of the benefits of smaller
2
See Nina Bascia and Eric Fredua-Kwarteng, Class Size Reduction: What the Literature Suggests about What Works,
Canadian Education Association, 2008.
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classes, the importance of maintaining the policy, and ultimately, over the longer term,
of extending smaller classes to grades 4 to 8 where classes are the largest in the
kindergarten – grade 12 system.
Full-day Kindergarten
Full-day kindergarten is increasingly accepted within Canada as a core educational
policy. In addition to Ontario, which is in the second year of a five-year implementation
plan, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island have full-day
kindergarten. British Columbia has also moved forward by making the full-day program
available in 50 per cent of its schools. In Alberta, the policy is under consideration.
This focus on early childhood education brings Ontario and the other participating
provinces more in line with developed nations that have a strong commitment to the
education and development of young children.
The Ontario model, with its teacher- early childhood educator team and its renewed
focus on play-based learning, reflects the most current research on early childhood
development. This research demonstrates that full-day programs contribute to schoolreadiness, improved literacy and mathematics achievement in higher grades, narrowing
the gap in achievement levels for disadvantaged students, improved retention rates,
and better integration of kindergarten into the elementary school community.
It is too early to draw deep research conclusions from the Ontario model, but anecdotal
reports from teachers, designated early childhood educators, and school administrators
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indicate that the program is succeeding to foster school readiness in terms of
socialization, student engagement, and cognitive development. These achievements
are all linked to student growth and academic success in later years.
Finding Savings within the Education Sector
ETFO believes any Ministry of Education efficiencies should focus on spending not
directly related to classroom programs and resources. The federation recommends that
the government look for its cost savings within the operation of the Education Quality
and Accountability Office (EQAO) and the numerous initiatives funded through the
Ministry’s Student Achievement Division.
The EQAO has been administering provincial assessments in grades 3 and 6 since
1997. The testing culture in the province intensified with the establishment of the
Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat in 2004 and the launch of a series of initiatives
focused on increasing the number of students who meet the provincial standard on the
provincial assessments. Elementary teachers have gained some important professional
knowledge about student assessment through Ministry in-service provided to support
the literacy and numeracy initiatives. Classroom teachers across the province report,
however, that the ongoing push for assessment data leaves them without sufficient time
to reflect on the in-service, takes important time away from classroom instruction, and
leads to a disproportionate time spent on literacy and numeracy to the detriment of
other subjects. It is clearly time to take a break from the current assessment practices
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and allow teachers to apply what they’ve learned to date. This would accomplish costreduction and increased teacher effectiveness and productivity.
Education Quality and Accountability Office
ETFO recommends that the government consider a number of options to find savings
from the EQAO’s $34 million annual budget. These include
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adopting a two-year moratorium on the tests,
eliminating the grade 3 or 6 tests,
testing on a two- or three-year cycle,
moving to random sample testing whereby only students in a few randomly
selected schools participate in the tests each year.
None of these options would undermine provincial accountability for student
achievement. Testing the school system is achieved through Ontario’s participation in a
number of random sample international assessments in reading, mathematics, and
science administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD). Ontario students’ results place them among the top performing OECD nations
which participate in the tests. Ontario students also performed at the top of the recent
Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (2010). Ontario was the only jurisdiction whose
students performed above the Canadian average in all three subjects tested: reading,
mathematics, and science.
There are other assessment tools and strategies that can provide teachers, parents,
and school boards with pertinent information about how students are learning in
reading, writing, and mathematics. The focus should be on supporting teachers as they
provide ongoing feedback on student progress. Report cards and informal reports from
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teachers should be viewed as the most important and current source of data on student
learning.
Scaling back on the EQAO assessments would also place Ontario in line with other
jurisdictions with a history of administering large-scale assessments. Scotland and
Wales abolished their national assessments in 2001 and 2003 respectively. In 2008,
Northern Ireland cancelled the assessments its students wrote for acceptance to
grammar schools and England ended its national assessments for 14-year-olds. Within
Canada, Manitoba abolished its grade 3, 6, and 9 tests beginning in 1999 and New
Brunswick cancelled its high school provincial assessments in 2005. In Alberta, the
government is working with the provincial teacher union to develop classroom
assessment tools to replace its grade 3 tests.
Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat
ETFO’s most recent information indicates that the Ministry of Education allocates $77.5
million to the work of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat (LNS), now integrated
within the Student Achievement Division. The Secretariat has been engaged at the
school level in a number of initiatives aimed at boosting student achievement scores on
the EQAO tests. The Ministry could achieve considerable savings by eliminating,
temporarily suspending, or dramatically reducing the various initiatives. The Ministry
funds more than 80 Student Achievement Officers who are sent into the field to work
with school boards and schools. ETFO believes these individuals duplicate work done
by school board consultants and other board leaders who are funded through the LNS
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initiatives and that the positions should be eliminated. Ministry staff should be working at
the provincial, not the board and school level.
A major part of the Student Achievement Division budget, more than $33 million, is
allocated to initiatives entitled Ontario Focused Intervention Partnership (OFIP) and
Schools in the Middle. The initiatives target schools where results on the EQAO tests
have been low or have remained static over time and provide intensive support in the
area of literacy and numeracy. The initiatives date back to 2006-2007, but it is not
evident that the investment has had any lasting effect in terms of addressing the
learning needs of the lowest performing students. The Ministry also allocates
approximately $11.4 million to the School Effectiveness Framework, another initiative
linked to student performance on EQAO tests that includes providing staffing at the
board level. Both expenditures should be reviewed. Reducing class size and providing
more support for differentiated learning and special education for at-risk students would
be a more cost-effective use of these resources. Significant funds are also provided for
other programs such as Teacher Learning Critical Pathways (TLCP) and board and
school developed action research projects which are not sustainable or expandable
without ongoing funding.
Scaling back or eliminating these programs would lessen the intensive focus on literacy
and numeracy. Such measures would allow elementary schools to provide a more
balanced program that recognizes that students also learn important skills and
knowledge through subjects such as social studies, the arts, music, and phys. ed. A
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more balanced program would more successfully engage students and contribute to
their overall development and academic success. Such an approach should also
reduce the costs of remedial education and early school leaving in later grades.
Conclusion
Ontarians rely on the provincial government to sustain essential services, assist those
most severely affected by economic dislocation, and invest in ventures that will produce
the highly-skilled, well-paying jobs the province needs to prosper. Reviewing
government expenditures to identify out-dated practices or redundancies is sound
business practice, but a wholesale assault on public sector jobs or salaries will do little
to support economic recovery in the province.
VM
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