In the fifth Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada ranked first in the world for reading, mathematics, and science in the testing of 15 – 16 year old students from 65 English speaking countries. Consistent top performance in international testing such as this is evidence that Ontario-trained teachers, the Ontario curriculum, as well progressive teaching and assessment strategies, provide students with an excellent academic background and preparation for future success.

Overall Structure

The Ministry of Education Ontario’s policy documents describe what students are expected to know and do in each subject area, at every level of the curriculum.

Elementary School (Kindergarten to Grade 8)
The first part of the Elementary School program focuses on providing a strong foundation for students to be able to establish their self-identity as learners. The grade 7 & 8 program focuses on making a smooth transition from Elementary to High School, and balances academic rigor with creative interests. Student-centred learning encourages active class participation and prepares students to progress confidently into High School.

High School (Grade 9 to 12)
The High School program focuses on building a strong academic foundation in diverse and increasingly specialized subject areas where advanced concepts are covered in detail. The program runs on a semester system with an emphasis on project-based learning, assignments, field trips, independent and group work.

Students develop analytical, communication, organizational, and research skills in the learning process. In order to graduate and receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) students must successfully complete 30 credits, a literacy test (the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test or OSSLT) and complete a minimum of 40 hours of community service.

Assessment & Evaluation

In the Ontario Curriculum, the approach to student assessment and evaluation is unique and has a significant impact of the variety of teaching and learning strategies implemented in the classroom. The major objective of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning, and regard assessment as an ongoing process rather than an event at the end of a course of study.

Final grades reflect a general of 70-30 split: 70% of the grade is determined by work completed throughout the course and 30% determined by final evaluations. “Assessment FOR learning” happens each day in class. Teachers use this assessment as an investigable tool to find out as much about what their students know and can do and what confusions, preconceptions, or gaps that they may have.

The wide variety of information that teachers collect about students’ learning process provides the basis for what they need to do next to move student learning forward. “Assessment AS learning” is also stressed, students are able to learn about themselves and become aware of how they learn to become metacognitive. “Assessment OF learning” is the result statement or final mark found on each student’s report card.

Sunway International School (SIS) is the only school in Malaysia offering Ontario’s world-class curriculum, programs, and resources in grades 7 through 11. The school is inspected annually by the Ministry of Education Ontario and is authorized to grant credits learning to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), ranked among the most highly-recognized secondary school qualifications in the world, and accepted by top-tier universities worldwide.

In 2014, SIS announced the launch of its new Johor campus in Sunway Iskandar in 2017, which will offer programs from preschool to pre-university. At SIS, the Ontario curriculum is taught by fully-trained and certified Ontario teachers. The teachers practice a holistic approach to education enabling students to examine different routes to success.

For more information, please visit www.sis.sunway.edu.my or call +603 7491 8070