Ontario tries to fight court ruling striking down new teachers’ mandatory math test

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Published January 14, 2022 at 11:41 am

TORONTO — The Ontario government is trying to fight a court ruling that found its mandatory math test for new teachers is unconstitutional.

Ontario’s Divisional Court last month struck down the math proficiency test as infringing equality provisions in the charter because it found the test had a disproportionate impact on racialized teachers.

The court said there were significant disparities in success rates of standardized testing based on race.

But the government is now arguing that the court made legal errors in that decision, including using too low of a threshold to determine discrimination, given that there was only one administration of the test.

The government is seeking leave to have the Court of Appeal for Ontario hear the case.

Premier Doug Ford’s government introduced the test as part of an effort to improve students’ scores on standardized math tests.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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