Creating a High Performance Public School System in Manitoba

If we adopted a clear-headed, results-oriented philosophy of education „Ÿ and embarked in a consequent manner on the reform of standards, finances and administration „Ÿ we could create the strongest public school system in the country. Instead of the province which spends the largest percentage of GDP on schools, Manitoba would become renowned as the province that achieved the best results.

Published on September 15, 2006

Executive Summary

  • While Manitoba spends a larger amount of its GDP on public school education than any other province, educational achievement remains average or below average.
  • Enhancing parental choice by enabling them to send their children to any public or private school in the province would require schools to ensure a higher quality of provision.
  • Charter school legislation has been successful in Alberta and could be implemented here.
  • Manitoba should re-introduce standards testing in every grade level from 1-12.
  • Data from the standards tests as well as graduation rates, attrition, and attendance would enable the province to publish an annual student achievement report that allows parents to compare schools.
  • The province should fund education out of general revenue rather than property taxes.
  • Allowing schools to stream students at an earlier age based on ability will result in more relevant programming for all students.
  • A significant teaching shortage in high-demand subject areas could be addressed through reforms in certification programs and by merit pay for teachers.
  • Recruiting more international students to fill schools with declining enrolments would bring in extra money to schools and their communities.
  • With these reforms, the Frontier Centre believes that it is possible for Manitoba to have the best public school system in the country.

Complete Text in PDF –

Policy Series 31 2006 Sep High Performance Public Schools In Mb

 

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