The Facts

The progress Ontario has made in public education over the last eight years has been undeniable. Consider:

• Ontario is now ranked 5th in the world in quality of education
• 81% of Ontario students graduate high school, up 13% in just six years
• Over 90% of primary school classes have 20 or fewer students
• Since 2003, close to 400 new schools have been or are in the process of being built, and more than 17,000 school have been subject to renewal projects such as replacing roofs, windows and boilers
• There are more than one million new books in elementary school libraries across the province.
• Up to 35,000 four- and five-year-olds in nearly 600 schools are benefitting from full-day kindergarten
• Substantial investments have been made since 2003 in rural schools, special education and bullying prevention
• There have been 0 school days lost to school lockouts or strikes in the last eight years
• 95% of all Ontario students attend publicly-funded schools

There is much evidence that points to the outstanding progress Ontario’s education system has made in recent years and how these gains have been made. You may find this evidence among the sources listed below.

• Standing on the Shoulders of Giants – An American Agenda for Education Reform
• Steering Ontario out of a Recession: A Plan of Action – Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• Early Learning and Care Impact Analysis – Centre for Spatial Economics
• 2009 Program for International Student Assessment – PISA 2009 Canadian Report
• How the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better – Mc Kinsey Study
• Shaping a Culture of Respect in Our Schools: Promoting Safe and Healthy Relationships
• Building a resilient Ontario – 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
• Graduation Rates – March 8, 2011, Government of Ontario Website
• Ontario, Canada: Reform to Support High Achievement in a Diverse Context – OECD 2010
• Schools guru lauds Ontario: Designer of Obama’s education reforms says teaching outshines U.S.
• Ontario school system ranks among best in world, report says
• Learn why Ontario is identified as being a leading example of a high performing education jurisdiction, according to Andreas Schleicher, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), Head of the Indicators and Analysis Division
• Premier Dalton McGuinty’s introductory remarks at the Premier’s Education Summit in Toronto, September 2010