Doubled Grade 9 math instruction plus overhauled curriculum will equal better high school results, Manitoba Education officials calculate

Grade 9 students in the province will be getting a mandatory math makeover that education officials expect will add up to better results and an improved learning experience in the core subject.

Manitoba Education has overhauled the curriculum for incoming high schoolers to expose all students to budgeting 101 and increase foundational numeracy lessons. And the amount of instruction is being doubled.

Starting in September 2027, a new mandatory mathematics course will span the entirety of every student’s Grade 9 school year. The rollout is being phased in with a pilot in selected schools scheduled for this fall.

The course is slated to replace four existing options — Grade 9 Mathematics, Transitional Mathematics, Transitional Mathematics I and Transitional Mathematics II.

“Math is so critical and foundational to learning for students and we know that the scores here in Manitoba are not reflective of the potential that we know that our students have,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said in an interview Friday.

Last year, 87 per cent of first-time ninth graders — the Class of 2027 — attained a mathematics credit. That figure dropped to 56 per cent among students in northern Manitoba.

Schmidt said high school teachers have long shared challenges related to getting through current curricula because of how dense it is.

The replacement Grade 9 course is essentially two credits instead of one, she said.

Some high schools offer a year-round introductory math course at present, but many have semestered models. The status-quo means some students take math in the fall of Grade 9 and do not revisit the subject until the winter of Grade 10.

The minister indicated her department’s statistics show that gaps affect academic results.

That’s one of the motivating factors for change, she said, noting that students can only benefit from more direct instruction in math.

COVID-19 pandemic disruptions to schooling, which resulted in many learners studying math from a distance, took a noticeable toll on Grade 12 provincial exam results.

The average scores in both applied and pre-calculus streams — 60 per cent and 62 per cent — dropped by about four per cent and six per cent, respectively, between 2018-2019 and 2023-2024.

Schmidt said Grade 9 is a fitting time to address financial literacy and bolster math instruction, in general, because students are introduced to streaming and start to customize their schedules significantly the following year.

In Grade 10, students can choose essential mathematics or a combined applied and pre-calculus course. Pre-calculus is a prerequisite to many professional post-secondary programs.

High school math teacher Jehu Peters and Anna Stokke, a professor at the University of Winnipeg, both endorsed the decision to extend the Grade 9 course over a full year.

Peters described Grade 9 as “a pivotal year” in a news release on the subject.

Stokke said in an email that she was pleased to hear the minister had publicly recognized that students need better preparation for advanced math courses.

“It’s important to keep in mind that math is cumulative, so closing math gaps among students needs to start earlier — in kindergarten-to-Grade 8 — where the foundation for success in high school math is built,” she added.

Manitoba is earmarking $65,000 for the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education to renew resources for Grade 9 teachers to deliver the new curriculum and help others integrate financial literacy from Grade 4 to 10.

Early years data on numeracy is particularly stark in Manitoba.

Just over one-third of Grade 3 students in English programs met grade-level expectations for math during 2023-2024. That figure has remained stable over the last decade.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca