Ontario secondary school students may soon see their attendance counting toward their final grades as the province moves to deal with rising absenteeism.
Critics argue, though, this new policy could be penalizing students that face barriers getting to school.
Education Minister Paul Calandra said that student absenteeism has been growing recently and has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Data from the provincial government shows only 40 per cent of students met the target of attending at least 90 per cent of their classes for the year, a 20 per cent decline from the 2017-18 school year.
The government is proposing making attendance worth about 15 per cent of a student's final grade to deal with this issue.
Ontario school boards currently consider a student of being chronically absent if they miss 10 per cent or more of their classes.
Attendance has dropped significantly following the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021-22 school year only 53 per cent of students met their school attendance expectations.
The proposal is drawing criticism from teachers and educators across the province that argue the policy does not address the causes of absenteeism.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) said integrating student attendance and grades could unfairly impact students that are dealing with struggles outside of the classroom.
“Declining attendance numbers by students should be a wake-up call that students need more support, not more penalties,” said OSSTF President Martha Hradowy. “Treating absenteeism as a grading issue misuses the reality that students show up when they feel supported, connected and safe at school. If the government is serious about improving attendance, it needs to invest in smaller class sizes, mental health and special education supports and stable staffing.”
There is a wide range of factors contributing to rising absenteeism since the pandemic including mental health challenges, disengagement from schools and broader issues that students and their families are facing.
The province has not yet released exact details on how attendance based grading would be implemented in schools across the province and how it would affect students facing legitimate barriers to attending school everyday.
