Accommodating 'Racialized' Victimhood

"Racialized students benefit from being taught by racialized teachers. The deleterious effects of the MPT [Math Proficiency Test] on racialized teacher candidates who have been unsuccessful in the test outweighs its benefits."

"Racialized teacher candidates have gone through an education system in which they have suffered discrimination and disadvantage."

"The candidates are then required to take 'high stakes' standardized tests which the available data shows they are more likely to fail."

Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court

 

"The mathematics part is all about logic. The pedagogical part is a lot of memory work."

"A lot of people who failed the test were educated outside of Canada. It wasn't about math skills, it was about memorization."

"Lots of people who come to Canada came as professionals. We are eager to contribute. But it was a bit of a trap."

Richard Atimniraye Nyelade, Cameroonian immigrant to Canada

Richard Atimniraye Nyelade   Photo by Julie Oliver /Postmedia

That 'trap' has now been opened, expunged from the laws and regulations that saw a need to ensure that teachers in Ontario were in command of mathematics to the extent that they could adequately convey their knowledge to their students. A challenge from the Ontario Teacher Candidates' Council -- its membership comprised of immigrants to Canada aspiring to the teaching profession who found the math test to qualify as teachers beyond their scope of academic reach -- which saw fit to challenge the need to become proficient in math as teachers in the Ontario school system.

The judicial review they had requested with the argument that the test had a disproportionately negative effect on' racialized' candidates, convinced the progressive sympathies of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court that the requirements infringe on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In their December 17 decision it was noted that 'racialized' teachers were under-represented in Ontario and that alternatives to the MPT existed as options.

The math test for those wishing to be certified teachers was mandatory, but has now been judged to be unconstitutional. Abrading the rights of 'racialized' would-be teachers, but at the same time, impeding the rights of the children and students of the province to be adequately taught the important subject of mathematics. The Math Proficiency Test (MPT) was introduced alongside a number of provincial strategies meant to improve math skills of students as a result of provincial test scores dipping. 

All new teacher candidates wishing to teach in publicly funded schools were mandated to take the test. One of the founders of the Ontario Teacher Candidates' Council, Bella Lewkowicz, now an Ottawa teacher, heralded the decision as "a huge victory. It's not often that educators can claim victory over the Ministry of Education", she stated. A classic case of the trail wagging the dog.

 

Richard Atimniraye Nyelade, originally from Cameroon, failed to pass the test twice. He succeeded on the third try. He arrived in Canada in 2018, with his bachelors degree from his native country along with a master's from Norway, enrolling in a University of Ottawa teaching program, planning to teach in his first language, French. "I did it because, when you arrive as a newcomer, you want to be sure to contribute to society", he said. But obviously on his own terms, not on those that society deemed best for its student population.

 

There are 50 mathematics content questions to the test, along with another 21 questions related to math pedagogy. Applicants must score 70 percent on both parts of the test to qualify as a pass. Once the province began officially administering the test, demographic data indicated disparities in success rates where candidates identifying as Indigenous and Black enjoy sucess rates 20 percent under those of white candidates.

 

Francophone candidates had lower success rates as well, as opposed to anglophones (in officially bilingual Canada francophones are certainly not considered 'racialized' or under-privileged). 55 percent of non-white candidates writing the test in French succeeded in comparison to 84 percent of white candidates writing in French; data that helped the court to form its opinion. Those whose first language is neither French nor English scored lower success rates.

 

Students in Quebec tested better than Ontario students in math where success is attributed to requiring student teachers to take courses in math methodology and content, instead of a high-stakes test. "I was in the middle of my program when they dropped this bomb" (the MPT requirement), commented Ms.Lewkowicz, who took the test and easily passed after graduation from University of Ottawa, and now teaching French in Ottawa.

The court ordered the regulator to grant certification to candidates who failed to pass the test, and that the test requirement be removed from the Ontario College of Teachers Act, legislation governing the teaching profession. The Ontario College of Teachers stated it had not been a party to the court proceeding. According to Mr. Atimniraye Nyelade, francophone candidates from countries like Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Haiti have encountered the same problem he did with the math test.

Yet another instance of new immigrants to a country where rather than integrating and adjusting to the values, priorities and legislation of their adopted country, steps are taken to cry foul and demand extraordinary treatment geared particularly to their shortcomings rather than taking responsible action to upgrade their qualifications to match expectations of any citizens, to prove they meet the required qualifications of a profession they wish to become part of.

Grade 2 teacher Vivian Mavraidis walks through her classroom at Hunter's Glen Junior Public School, which is part of the Toronto District School Board, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)