Manitoba students’ math scores are falling fast, and the NDP’s lowered education standards are to blame
The results are in, and they don’t look good. Manitoba students writing the Pre-Calculus 40S math exam scored an average of 62.4 per cent—a six-per centage-point decline since 2019.
Education Minister Tracy Schmidt was quick to blame social factors such as child poverty. However, Schmidt should be careful with that line of reasoning, since it implies that child poverty rates are worse under her government than under the previous Progressive Conservative government.
Fortunately, Schmidt then said her department is reviewing the math curriculum and looking at making changes. This means that even Schmidt recognizes that Manitobans expect her government to do something about this problem.
Ironically, just last year, the NDP government planned to get rid of Grade 12 provincial exams entirely and only backed down in the face of massive public backlash. Had this change gone ahead, we wouldn’t even have this latest data available, since it never would have been collected in the first place.
If we want things to get better, three things need to happen.
First, the NDP must reverse its disastrous lowering of teacher education standards. While Manitoba used to require all prospective early and middle years teachers to take two university-level math courses, that requirement no longer exists. Even worse, high school teachers no longer need to complete a major or minor in a subject taught in Manitoba schools.
In other words, future high school math teachers might have earned little more than a gender studies or theology degree. It boggles the mind that the NDP doesn’t think math teachers need a solid mastery of basic mathematics.
Second, the NDP needs to ensure that math curriculum guides place a stronger emphasis on the academic basics. This means requiring students to memorize basic math facts such as the times tables and mastering the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The evidence is clear that traditional, teacher-directed instruction benefits students. Teachers must take charge of their classrooms and provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful. Enough with fads such as project-based learning and useless sayings about teachers being a “guide on the side” rather than a “sage on the stage.”
Simply put, there is nothing wrong with arranging desks in rows, providing students with clear instructions, giving plenty of opportunities for students to practice and immediately correcting student errors. This is how students learn.
Finally, the NDP needs to bring in standardized testing for more grade levels. We shouldn’t wait until Grade 12 before students write their first provincial exam. They should be writing standardized exams at multiple grade levels to enable the province to identify problem areas earlier and use this data to make necessary changes.
Unfortunately, the Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS), like other teachers’ unions across Canada, is implacably opposed to standardized testing at all grade levels. Since the symbiotic relationship between MTS and the NDP is well known, it will no doubt be difficult for NDP politicians to go against their union allies. But that is exactly what they must do.
When it comes to math scores, Manitoba continues to rank near the bottom among Canadian provinces. If we ever want this to change, we need to start doing things differently. This means getting serious about improving math education.
Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
