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Only 4 out of 10 Ontario high school students meeting government attendance target
The proposal would give Grades 9 to 12 students up to 15% of their final mark for attendance and participation, with written exams made mandatory.
- On Monday, Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced legislation to tie high school attendance to final grades, assigning 15 per cent of marks for grades 9 and 10, and 10 per cent for grades 11 and 12.
- Student attendance plummeted to 40 per cent in the 2024-25 school year, prompting Calandra to cite teacher requests for solutions to rising truancy and classroom control after the pandemic.
- The proposed measures mandate written exams on official exam days, while students will not face penalties for excused absences including religious holidays and illnesses.
- Martha Hradowy, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, criticized the approach as "low-hanging fruit," arguing the government should prioritize smaller class sizes and mental health resources instead.
- Kelly Gallagher-Mackay, an associate professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, cautioned that transactional reward systems overlook complex barriers, stating "what you want is students to realize they want to be there because they're learning, not because of a transactional reward system.
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11 Articles
11 Articles
Attendance for high schoolers, elementary students is plummeting in Ontario: data
Data reveals attendance is plummeting and comes on the heels of Education Minister Paul Calandra announcing sweeping changes to English school boards that includes tying class attendance to final high school marks.
·Canada
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Only 40 per cent of secondary school students and 55.5 per cent of primary school students met the attendance standard in 2024-2025.
·Montreal, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left5Leaning Right0Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution71% Left
Bias Distribution
- 71% of the sources lean Left
71% Left
L 71%
C 29%
Factuality
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