Dear Secondary Parents/Guardians,
As a follow-up to our previous email regarding secondary report cards, I wanted to provide you with some additional information about reporting and assessment during this time of labour action.
As a reminder, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) is currently in negotiations with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) to achieve a new collective agreement. OSSTF members have been engaged in legal job action since November 2019.
As always, learning continues in classrooms across the TDSB, and teachers remain committed to supporting students and keeping parents/guardians informed of their child’s progress. Current job action has resulted in the following changes:
Report Cards & Individual Education Plans
As per the current sanctions, secondary teachers will be inputting student marks and learning skills electronically, but will not be writing comments. As a result, semester one report cards (for semestered schools) and mid-term report cards (for full-year schools) will be produced for secondary students with marks and learning skills only. Students in semestered schools will receive their report cards following the end of the semester. Students in full-year schools will receive their mid-term report cards according to the calendar shared by your school at the beginning of the year.
For students with special education needs who have alternative reports, they will be produced for secondary students with comments and will also be distributed following the completion of the semester. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) will also be updated and provided as per normal practice.
For students applying to College or University, marks will be submitted to the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS) and to the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) on time to avoid any impact on application deadlines.
EQAO & Grade 9 Math Marks
In regards to EQAO Grade 9 Math Assessment, as per direction from the Ministry of Education, the test will be rescheduled for June 2020. We will provide you with an update once the Ministry provides us with additional information.
When determining a Grade 9 student’s overall mark in math, their performance on the EQAO Grade 9 Math Assessment has typically been included as part of the 30% of their final report card grade. However, as a result of the postponement of the EQAO Math Assessment, this will no longer be the case.
To ensure fairness and consistency for all students, all Grade 9 Math courses in a school will follow the same evaluation practices in determining the final 30%. This will apply to students in both semestered schools (semester one and two) and full-year schools.
We remain hopeful that an agreement with OSSTF can be achieved soon. Learning continues in classrooms across the TDSB, and all staff remain committed to the achievement and well-being of all students.
Sincerely,
John Malloy
Director of Education