“We’re not doing as well as last year. That’s a concern,” said Bill Torrens, superintendent of student achievement at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. “We’re trying to understand how to make sure we’re keeping all students engaged in learning … and staying on track.”The board looked at students’ midterm marks and found the failure rate in courses was 16 per cent, almost double what it was at the same time last year.
In Quebec, the provincial association of school administrators has raised alarm that about three times as many students as usual have failing marks across all grade levels, including secondary. “It’s really risky,” she said. Ms. Gallagher-Mackay said students who are not engaged in their learning tend to drop out.Not all school boards noted issues in academic performance, but several also told The Globe and Mail it was too early to measure.
Ms. Sirisko said a number of factors could be contributing to how students perform, including worry about the pandemic, mental health issues and not being in the physical classroom all-day. She said staff will look at different interventions for struggling students over the next few days. “It’s going to be all hands on deck,” she said.
Educators have also accommodated struggling students as much as possible, said Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. He said that while he doesn’t expect a “massive increase” in failure rates, students are also getting a condensed curriculum. “It will definitely take some time to catch up on the deficits created by teaching during the pandemic,” he said.