Toronto has another diploma for dummies

["Arthur Hu" <arthurhu@comcast.net>]

TORONTO ELMIMINATES NON-ELITE DIPLOMAS, OFFERS SKILL CERTIFICATE
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Fri, 20 Feb 2004 Toronto Star Certificate rewards job skills, not
marks Toronto board to issue 200 in June Seen as alternative to
dropping out KRISTIN RUSHOWY EDUCATION REPORTER
      Toronto high-school students doomed to fail because the new
curriculum is too tough will be able to earn a certificate showcasing
their job skills rather than their school smarts. 
In the past, many of the students who will be eligible for the skills
certificate would have studied at the "basic" level and earned a
diploma.  Now, the basic level has all but disappeared, leaving those
students struggling to learn material beyond their capability, or
taking courses developed locally by boards that often don't count for
credit. ...  Almost half of students who begin high school end up
going straight into the workforce - with or without a diploma. 


Fri, 20 Feb 2004 Toronto Star  Certificate rewards job skills, not marks
      Toronto board to issue 200 in June
      Seen as alternative to dropping out
      KRISTIN RUSHOWY
      EDUCATION REPORTER

      Toronto high-school students doomed to fail because the new
curriculum is too tough will be able to earn a certificate showcasing
their job skills rather than their school smarts. 

      The new Employability Skills Achievement Certificate, to be
offered this June by the Toronto District School Board, is even
endorsed by the Conference Board of Canada. 

      While not meant as an alternative to Ontario's high school
diploma, it will serve as an alternative to dropping out with no
credentials whatsoever - which many educators have warned will happen.


      The skills certificate will be accompanied by a portfolio, put
together by teachers, outlining a student's achievements on a skills
list developed by the conference board. 

      It could include anything from problem-solving and multi-tasking
to being able to use a computer. 

      "The skills certificate is something that is good for all
students ... but there are a number of students in our system who are
not successful in achieving (a high school diploma)," said Gerry
Connelly, acting director of the Toronto public school board. 

      "This certificate gives them something that is credible with the
workplace." 

      The certificate will be granted this June to about 200 students
who have been in high school for several years but don't have the
required 30 credits or who haven't been able to pass the mandatory
Grade 10 literacy test or alternative literacy course, Connelly said. 

      It comes on the heels of a report warning that as many as 40,000
students across the province are at risk of dropping out because they
can't earn enough credits to graduate in four years under the new
system, and a lawsuit by families trying to put the literacy test on
hold so their children can get a diploma. 

      Currently, the province offers a "secondary school certificate"
for students who have completed 14 credits, or a "certificate of
accomplishment" for others who don't complete even that. 

      But Connelly said neither has any clout in the working world
because employers aren't familiar with them. 

      They're usually granted to students who drop out after a couple
of years, said Judi Misener, principal of Sir William Osler High
School, a vocational high school in Toronto. 

      "My students don't drop out," said Misener, who's been pushing
for some sort of recognition for them after the previous Progressive
Conservative government rejected suggestions for an alternative
diploma from several Ontario school boards. 

      "These are all students who have completed 30 courses - a mix of
credit and non-credit - who've been in school four years or more, and
if at all possible have done their 40 hours of community service," she
said. 

      "These are students who have been punctual, been attending, been
doing their work and passing their courses," Misener said. 

      "They've been involved in work experience or co-op programs, so
they have put their skills to the test in the workplace. They have
worked hard to the maximum of their potential." 

      But they haven't been able to pass the Grade 10 literacy test,
which is a diploma requirement starting this year. 

      "They're functionally literate ... and numerically literate,"
Misener said. "But they are hands-on learners. They've worked so hard
to read and write, and at the end there's nothing for them, until now.
It gives them some validation, some dignity and self-worth." 

      Misener expects about 40 of her students to be granted the
certificate this year. 

      Students will receive a certificate, similar to the Ontario
Secondary School Diploma, signed by the board chair and director of
education, as well as the chief executive officer of the conference
board. 

      Both the Toronto board and conference board logos will be on the
certificate. 

      The Conference Board of Canada is a not-for-profit think-tank
that developed the employability skills list with the input of
hundreds of employers and educators across the country. 

      The list is widely used by employers in hiring and when
retraining employees, said Michael Bloom, the organization's director
of education and learning. 

      He said the deal with the Toronto board, to be finalized next
month, is a first. 

      "All of these skills are skills that we believe are generic
skills important to success in the workplace," he said. "Ideally,
everyone would have some of them, but not all. ... It's not a
competition, but it gives a holistic view" of a person's strengths. 

      In the past, many of the students who will be eligible for the
skills certificate would have studied at the "basic" level and earned
a diploma. 

      Now, the basic level has all but disappeared, leaving those
students struggling to learn material beyond their capability, or
taking courses developed locally by boards that often don't count for
credit. 

      The 200 students the Toronto board is targeting this year is
low, Connelly said, but "we're targeting the students with little
chance of success." 

      Education Minister Gerard Kennedy yesterday welcomed the board's
initiative, but said the province is also working on ways to assist
struggling students. 

      "Suffice to say that we understand our obligation to students,
those who would have graduated potentially and those who might have
not. Our interest is very genuine," he said. 

      "We want them to have the greatest success they have." 

      Kennedy said the province is weeks away from announcing its own
strategy to help more students graduate - or at least stay in school
and get on track to earning a diploma. 

      "This is a small start, we're hoping for a larger group next
year," said trustee Bruce Davis (Etobicoke-Lakeshore). "There are a
lot of students this can help. We can see this as being very helpful
for students and employers." 

      Almost half of students who begin high school end up going
straight into the workforce - with or without a diploma. 

      This skills certificate should help ease that transition, Davis
said.

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