middling results and slow progress for students in Ontario during the era of the Education Premier.
Following the defeat of the Bob Rae government, Conservative premier Mike Harris introduced standardized testing and from 1995 to 1999, results showed significant testing improvement.
However, following the defeat of the Conservatives under Ernie Eves, test scores have remained relatively stagnant — despite complaints that the tests themselves have been watered down.
“They came up with, I think, a pretty good curriculum, especially in math,” Doretta Wilson, with the Society for Quality Education, said of the Harris Tories.
“Over time, that curriculum has been revised and I think diluted a little bit.”
In some respects the late 90s don’t seem so bad right now.