Ontario schools website's 'shopping bag' feature dropped
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 | 12:09 PM ET
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The Ontario government has agreed to make changes to a website that allows parents to compare schools based on standardized testing results and demographics.
The Ministry of Education's school information finder lists everything from class sizes to the percentage of students from low-income families and students who speak English as a second language.
It also tells parents what percentage of a school's students are identified as gifted in comparison with the provincial average, as well as the percentage of students meeting the provincial standards in math and literacy testing.
Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, who met with education advocates on Monday, said she has heard the concerns and has ordered the removal of the website's "shopping bag" function, which allows parents to compare schools in their neighbourhood.
"We're going to set up a working table and have a conversation about what information might be useful," Wynne told CBC News.
But the website itself won't be taken down, said Wynne, who maintains it is a useful way for parents to gauge the performance of their children's schools.
Critics and opposition MPPs have slammed the site as unfair, saying it will increase division by leading parents to avoid schools with larger numbers of poor kids and immigrants.
"I think that's totally wrong and should offend most thinking Ontarians," interim Progressive Conservative leader Bob Runciman said on Monday.
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