Students in schools across Ontario require consistent, challenging programs that will capture their interest and prepare them for a lifetime of learning. They require knowledge and skills that will help them compete in a global economy, and allow them to lead lives of integrity and satisfaction, both as citizens and as individuals. The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8 outlines the knowledge, skills, and high standards of learning required to meet these goals.

The mathematics curriculum set out in this document is significantly more rigorous and demanding than previous curricula. This curriculum includes a broader range of knowledge and skills and introduces many skills – for example, the mastery of number facts and the use of such standard measurement terms as centimetre and kilogram – in earlier grades. Expectations for pencil-and-paper skills in mathematical operations have been raised and are clearly stated (in the sections on Grades 4, 5, and 6). The expectations related to students' problem-solving skills are also more stringent. Students will be expected to describe what they are doing in mathematics and to explain why they are doing it.

Where previous policy documents identified general outcomes for Grades 3, 6, and 9 only, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Mathematics, 1997 gives precise and detailed descriptions of the knowledge and skills required for each grade. This provision of detail will eliminate the need for school boards to write their own expectations, will ensure consistency in curriculum across the province, and will facilitate province-wide testing. Province-wide consistency will be helpful to students who change schools, and will help parents in all regions of the province to have a clear understanding of their child's progress.