Benchmark 1: Curriculum and Instruction

The OHRC found that the previous Ontario Language Curriculum was based on a “balanced literacy” approach that downplayed the importance of word-level decoding and spelling. The primary method used to teach students how to read words was three-cueing, an approach aligned with the whole language philosophy that assumes children will “discover” how to read through exposure to spoken and written language with little need for explicit instruction.

Cueing systems and balanced literacy approaches are not effective in teaching a significant proportion of students to read words and may be most harmful to students who are at risk. Students most at risk for reading failure, including students with reading disabilities and other students who are protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) will not develop critical early reading skills when such approaches are used in schools.

When the curriculum does not meet the required standard, it has a ripple effect on students’ outcomes and the education system. A substandard curriculum leads to ineffective classroom instruction, which creates a need for intervention that no system can meet. As a result, schools are forced to choose which students will receive intervention and which will not. When schools are unable to provide effective instruction, some families may be able to fill in the gap at home or pay for private tutoring. In this way, a deficient curriculum can perpetuate and deepen existing intergenerational cycles of privilege and disadvantage.

Recommendations

In the Right to Read Inquiry Report, the OHRC recommends that the Ministry of Education (Ministry) work with an external expert or experts to revise Ontario’s Kindergarten Program, Language curriculum and related instructional guides to remove use of cueing systems for word reading and instead require mandatory explicit, systematic and direct instruction in foundational word reading skills. This should be done on an expedited basis while the Ministry and boards simultaneously take immediate steps to align their instructional approaches with the OHRC’s findings and recommendations.

Curriculum: Significant Progress

The Ministry partnered with the OHRC throughout the Inquiry process. As soon as the OHRC released the Inquiry Report, the Minister of Education announced that Ontario would revise the Grade 1 to 9 Language and Français Curriculum and instructional guides to reflect the recommendations provided in the Report.

In May 2022, Ontario released a new instructional guide for teachers, Effective early reading instruction: a guide for teachers and removed the previous instructional guide from the Ministry’s website. The new guide offers a high-level overview of many elements of evidence-based structured literacy instruction, including systematic and explicit teaching of phonemic awareness and phonics. This guide also introduced several key terms and concepts, such as the need for a planned scope and sequence in teaching.

“Since I've integrated a science-based approach to reading into my teaching, I feel much more confident, and I can see the positive impact on my students. For example, one of my students… has overcome his decoding difficulties… His self-confidence is growing, and he's blossoming not only as a reader but also as an author.”
– S-I. Moore, École Des Sentiers, Le Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

When the guide was released, the Ministry urged school boards to use it to prepare for the change in curriculum. Many school boards proactively did so, providing professional development sessions to their teachers and piloting new programs and resources throughout the 2022–23 school year. Some such initiatives included the "Right to Read Book club", which is still ongoing.

The Ministry made significant revisions to the Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum (including the expectations) in line with the Right to Read recommendations. The emphasis of the Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum is that foundational language and literacy knowledge and skills need to be taught through evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction, often referred to as structured literacy.

The Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum was released in June 2023 and implemented in September 2023. Despite the tight time frame, the OHRC commends the Ministry, school boards, and educators for rising to the challenge and acting with a keen sense of urgency.

“In my 27 years of teaching, never have I come across something that has so fundamentally changed my way of teaching as with the best practices presented in the Science of Reading… The changes that I have seen implementing a systematic phonics program are undeniably impressive.”
– S. Young, Perth Avenue Junior PS, Toronto District School Board

In January 2024, the Ministry announced that a revised Kindergarten Program will be implemented in September 2025. While this is a positive step, the OHRC recognizes that in September 2024, approximately 120,000 children will enter Kindergarten without the assurance of being taught foundational reading skills. The new curriculum does include developmentally - appropriate expectations for Kindergarten, however, at this juncture, instruction in these skills is not mandatory. The Ministry still has time to change this and make such instruction compulsory for the 2024/25 school year while it works on a complete revision of the Kindergarten Program.

Next Steps: French Immersion

The OHRC is mindful that the French Immersion Program needs to be updated. Over 200,000 students are enrolled in elementary French Immersion programs in the province. They have the right to learn to read with foundational skills instruction and. teachers want to provide this instruction. Although the Ministry has encouraged school boards to apply the evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction described in the Effective early reading instruction: a guide for teachers in French Immersion programs, teachers must follow the French as a Second Language (FSL) curriculum, which still references teaching cueing strategies and does not provide specific standards for essential early literacy skills.

This has led to inequity across the province between students in French Immersion and English/Français programs. In some instances, this has led to streaming out of French Immersion. As a result, these children are denied the benefits of bilingualism, which can help them succeed in life and work.

The OHRC recommends strongly that Ontario creates a new, cohesive FSL curriculum which aligns with evidence-based instructional approaches around reading and literacy instruction in the Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum documents.

The Inquiry found that Ontario’s English faculties of education (faculties) have not been promoting evidence-based practices. Instead, they have been promoting socio-cultural and inquiry-based approaches while rejecting evidence that these approaches are minimally ineffective.

It is vital that pre-service and current teachers learn about how skilled reading develops. They should learn about the importance of strong early word-reading skills for future reading fluency and reading comprehension. Teachers should be equipped with the knowledge needed to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding and word-reading efficiency. As well, instructing them in the use of early screening techniques to identify at-risk students and evidence-based interventions is essential.

“For decades, Ontario has neglected evidence-based intervention for struggling readers. Now, the tide is turning. It is rewarding to be part of this reform.”
– P. Klein, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario

The faculties need to prepare educators to identify and teach students who are at risk for reading difficulties. Failing to prepare educators contradicts their strongly proclaimed emphasis on social justice, equity, and teacher empowerment, and undermines their goal of ensuring that they can meet the needs of a diverse student population.

Recommendations

Teacher Education: The OHRC recommends that teacher education programs address the importance of word-reading accuracy and efficiency for reading comprehension; how accurate and efficient word-reading develops; how to teach foundational word-reading and spelling skills in the classroom and the importance of teaching foundational word-reading skills to promote equality for all students. In addition, the OHRC recommends that teacher education programs use experienced primary teachers who are effective reading instructors to their faculties to guide teacher candidates in delivering the critical components of word-reading instruction and offering support to students with word-reading difficulties.

Professional Development: The OHRC recommends that the Ministry work with an external expert or experts to develop comprehensive, sustained and job-embedded in-service teacher professional learning and resources that address reading instruction and how to identify, instruct and support students with word-reading difficulties.

Teacher Education: In Progress

The Ministry, educators, and numerous educational partners have responded positively to the Inquiry. For example, the Ministry, the Ontario College of Teachers and faculties of education formed a working group in 2022 to address the recommendations pertaining to reading instruction, assessment and intervention and the content of additional qualification courses. The Ontario Association of Deans of Education confirmed their commitment to the ongoing improvement of teacher education and the language curriculum, including the systemic issues that affect the right to read and made a commitment to update their foundational courses based on the revised Grades 1-8 Language curriculum that was released in June 2023.

Presently, there remain many new and experienced teacher candidates who are not equipped to apply the Science of Reading in their instruction nor are they aware of the Right to Read Inquiry recommendations. There is still more work to be done.

Teacher candidates are hungry for this knowledge, resources and support and are actively searching for it. The International Dyslexia Association Ontario (IDA Ontario) offers free access to its Basics of Decoding and Spelling Instruction course for teacher candidates. Since spring 2022, over 700 teacher candidates have participated in this online course. They are excited and grateful for the information they are receiving through IDA Ontario.

The accreditation of teacher education programs falls under the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Ontario College of Teachers has the authority and responsibility to ensure that initial teacher education programs meet current and future accreditation standards. The government has implemented legislative amendments to the Ontario College of Teachers Act through the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, passed in June 2023, to reinforce the expectation that a teacher education program must enable students to acquire knowledge of the Ontario curriculum, particularly in relation to math, reading, and literacy, and any other element prescribed by regulations. The Ministry is working with the Ontario College of Teachers and faculties of education on potential changes to the core content of initial teacher education. However, it has not passed detailed regulations specifying the knowledge and skills future teachers must attain to teach foundational word-reading skills.

Professional Development: In Progress

The Ministry of Education has continued its long-standing partnership with the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO) to provide information to educators through the website LD at School. The OHRC welcomes LDAO’s contribution to creating and sharing several new helpful Science of Reading resources.

Another impactful initiative worth noting is the Ontario literacy project called ONlit. This initiative is a partnership between the Ministry, Dyslexia Canada, and IDA Ontario to develop resources and provide virtual learning opportunities for educators. The aim of this initiative is to build internal capacity in school boards by providing professional development to board literacy leadership teams and developing training materials these teams can use to provide job-embedded professional development to classroom educators. This initiative is an excellent opportunity to invest in the future of literacy education in Ontario.

To align effectively with the Inquiry's recommendations, teachers need sustained job-embedded professional development and resources to transition their practices.

Many boards have been working to provide professional development, however, barriers such as the shortage of supply teachers and funding limitations are outside the control of the board.

High-quality resources and materials have been developed by several school boards for educators to use, and the OHRC is buoyed by the number of school boards which have taken the initiative to share freely the resources they have developed. This commitment to province-wide collaboration and equity is heartening.

It is disappointing that many boards still lack a strategic plan to implement the necessary changes and build capacity within their systems two years after the Inquiry Report. The OHRC is concerned by reports from teachers that they must continue to undergo additional professional development on practices that the Inquiry found should be replaced. These teachers are eager to engage in new learning. Further, given the difficulty of providing release time to teachers, it is not a beneficial use of time to offer ineffective professional development.

Another barrier that persists in some boards is the attitudes and priorities of leadership. While many education directors and superintendents have embraced the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry and have worked to build their knowledge, others must still prioritize understanding the Report, the new curriculum, and evidence-based policies and practices. This gap may risk their abilities to lead their boards effectively through this complex transition.

Additional Qualification Courses: Little to No Progress

The OHRC provided detailed recommendations outlining the necessary changes to the Additional Qualification (AQ) courses for teachers. In January 2023, the Ontario College of Teachers made an internal update to the Reading Additional Qualification programs course guidelines with a full revision of this additional qualification program currently underway. It is anticipated that the Ontario College of Teachers will publicly post a draft of the new course guidelines this summer for public feedback. The Special Education AQ course guidelines, which are used to create the additional qualification courses, have not yet been updated to align with the OHRC recommendations.

Since additional qualification programs must be reaccredited on a regular review cycle, which is generally every 3-5 years, we hope to see more progress in this area soon.

The Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs regulation requires that additional qualification providers be committed to continuous improvement and quality assurance of their existing programs and have implemented measures demonstrating that commitment. It is promising to see that Trent University takes this commitment seriously. The OHRC recognizes and appreciates the significance of the changes Trent has made to align its courses with the new curriculum and the Inquiry recommendations. Trent has shown that with a keen sense of urgency, AQ courses can be changed rapidly.

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is another organization that has made significant and commendable contributions to in-service teacher education. ETFO has provided its members with many opportunities for learning and sharing knowledge related to the Inquiry and structured literacy during its Summer Institutes, Federation Days and ongoing resource development. The OHRC applauds ETFO's continued efforts to advance equity by empowering its members to implement the recommendations of the Right to Read Inquiry.