Lol, you won’t find many Canadian parents, especially those in Ontario, agreeing that we have one of the best public school systems. Every time the new standardized scores from the EQAO testing the kids do in grades 3,6,&9 come out, there is an uproar as the math scores have been falling every year (some claim it’s not because kids can’t do math but because there is a disconnect between the test and what is taught in class. I say it’s because the curriculum is driven by pet theories rather than empirical evidence and most elementary teachers can’t teach math). The kids seem to be doing very well in reading and writing however. There is also the view that what the government has actually done to make the metrics look better is lower the bar by making the curriculum assessments more broad based. In any case, the latest “equity” initiatives seem to be promoting equal outcome rather than just equal opportunity with the push for reintegrating all students into “inclusive” classrooms with differentiated instruction. Without sufficient support and funding however, what that means is that everyone becomes mediocre. There was a recent uproar in the Toronto Public School Board when after a task force identified that access to specialty programs at the high school level was not equitable the school board’s original proposal was to shut the programs down (rather than eliminating the barriers that favoured students from higher socio-economic backgrounds). The backlash from parents had them reversing course pretty quickly however. What the school boards don’t want to acknowledge is that the overall success of students nationally and internationally is being propped up by widespread after school tutoring (of which I am equally guilty) which of course then favours those who have the means to be able to pay for it. So while they are introducing all sorts of initiatives to promote equity in the classroom, it’s being undermined by parents paying for tutoring since the feeling is that “equity” is just another word for “equal outcomes”.