Tags: accountability, Alberta Education, assessment, diploma exams, post-secondary, teachers
Recently, many people have been writing my office with concerns about the diploma exams that were written at the end of January 2010. I asked the department to thoroughly investigate each of the issues that were raised.
The diploma exam program in its present form is a significant milestone in students' formal education. These tests are designed to be exit exams that assess students' knowledge of the Alberta programs of study. Like the courses themselves, they expect a high standard of learning from students. They also ensure every student is assessed using a common standard across the province, and thus provide a highly reliable basis for admissions and scholarship decisions made by post-secondary institutions across the country.
How diploma exams are developed
All diploma exams undergo a complex, quality-controlled development process which takes about 18 months to complete. These development processes ensure that each examination covers as much of the curriculum as possible in a pencil-and-paper test, and that each question is fair and appropriate for Grade 12 students in each course. During development, experienced classroom teachers with a thorough knowledge of the program of studies are extensively involved in the creation of test blueprints, item development, field testing and validation of every exam. About $10.5 million is spent on diploma exams each year (another $4 million is spent on provincial achievements tests; by contrast, about $30 million is spent to develop curriculum).
While diploma exams are designed to be at a consistent standard of difficulty each year, it is not possible to design an exam that is exactly as difficult as another exam. Therefore, diploma exams are equated: by reusing some exam questions, it is possible to adjust students' marks to compensate for variations in difficulty. This ensures that only student knowledge is being tested. You can learn more about equating here.
Differences between teacher-awarded and exam marks
The most common concern that has been raised is that diploma marks are significantly less than teacher-awarded marks. This is not unusual. Diploma exams are designed to have an average of 65 per cent (the mid-point between the acceptable standard of 50 per cent and the standard of excellence of 80 per cent). Designing the test to a 65 per cent mean does not preclude the number of students attaining either standard from increasing; it merely ensures the accuracy of the test as a tool for identifying attainment of standards. Should the number of students attaining the standards increase, the average achieved on the test provincially will increase above 65 per cent. Each exam in January 2010 was at approximately the 65 per cent level (see the table below).
| Course | Average teacher-awarded mark (per cent) | Average diploma exam mark (per cent) |
| Courses used for post-secondary admissions | ||
| English Language Arts 30-1 | 72 | 62 |
| Social Studies 30-1 | 73 | 63 |
| Pure Mathematics 30 | 73 | 69 |
| Biology 30 | 73 | 66 |
| Chemistry 30 | 73 | 66 |
| Physics 30 | 75 | 62 |
| Français 30 | 77 | 67 |
| French Language Arts 30 | 79 | 66 |
| Courses not used for post-secondary admissions | ||
| English Language Arts 30-2 | 64 | 65 |
| Social Studies 30-2 | 65 | 65 |
| Applied Mathematics 30 | 66 | 62 |
| Science 30 | 70 | 66 |
Teachers' classroom assessments of students have not changed over time, with averages that have hovered around 75 per cent provincially and a relative distribution that has remained constant. Exam marks have also been consistent over time, at about 65 per cent, with a similarly constant distribution.
It is not unusual for exam marks to be lower or higher than teacher marks because of differences in assessment standards and practices. Indeed, it is noteworthy that there is much less difference between teacher-awarded marks and diploma exams marks in courses that are not used for post-secondary admissions. Addressing these discrepancies is one area where we need to do a better job, and we are involved in discussions with the ATA, ASBA and deans of education about how to do this.
Individual cases where the diploma and teacher-awarded mark vary greatly are not generally investigated, unless exam cheating is suspected. If a student's mark drops significantly on the diploma compared to in class, the first check is in the classroom. For instance, students who had high marks going into the exam may be overconfident, and not study enough prior to the test. However, if there is a noticeable difference between the diploma mark and the teacher-awarded mark for a large group of students throughout Alberta, this is explored.
To ensure that students' marks on diploma exams are fair, marking of exams is based on a standard set of scoring guidelines that are available to teachers and students throughout the year. Every examination is marked anonymously by two independent markers, and the marks they assign are blended together to determine the final score. If the two marks differ significantly, the paper is read by a third marker, and the resulting score is assigned. In rare instances where the third reader's score is significantly different from those of both previous markers, the paper is set aside for a fourth read. Although this is a rare situation, it illustrates the extent to which steps are in place to ensure students receive a fair evaluation. These marking processes ensure that the examination measures a student's achievement as objectively and accurately as possible.
In short, a student's mark being lower on the diploma exam does not mean that the exam is flawed any more than a student's mark being higher on the exam means the teaching is flawed.
The difficulty of exams
Another concern that has been raised is that exam marks dropped in January 2010 because of the difficulty of new programs of study. This concern has been raised about three programs of study: English Language Arts 30-1, Physics 30 and Social Studies 30.
In the case of English Language Arts 30-1, the program is not new. However, diploma exams in English Language Arts have shown a serious decline in writing skills (Part A of the exam) over the past five years. Alberta Education staff has investigated this decline with the assistance of experienced classroom teachers, and have found that exam difficulty has not increased over the past five years in a manner that would account for the continual decline in student scores. In other words, the decline in scores is a reflection of a decline in student abilities that we are now working to address.
The current Physics 30 program of studies has been in use since September 2008. This new program of studies focuses on students' conceptual understanding of physics, emphasizing students' grasp of the "why" behind the things they do. In the old program, students with strong calculator skills could achieve honours marks with little understanding of physics. In the new program, these same students would struggle because they need to explain why they used a specific calculation to solve a problem.
The first diploma exam to test the new Physics 30 program of studies was administered in January 2009. Because student marks on this exam were low, these marks were scaled for a province-wide average of 63.7 per cent (in comparison, the provincial average in January 2008 when the old program of studies was assessed was 68.1 per cent). As can be seen in the table above, the diploma exam marks in January 2010 averaged 62 per cent province-wide, close enough to the intended average of 65 per cent that scaling was not necessary. Teacher-awarded marks have been consistent throughout the introduction of the new program of studies: the average Physics 30 school-awarded mark in January 2008 was 74.4 per cent. In January 2009, it was 74.2 per cent, and in January 2010 it was 75 per cent.
The current Social Studies 30-1 program of studies was introduced in September 2009. Over the three semesters prior to the province-wide introduction of this program, prototype versions of the new exam were field-tested in numerous classes around the province to "fine-tune" the written response assignment and the scoring rubric. Before the exam, a diploma bulletin with sample writing assignments, scoring rubrics and exemplars of student responses was made available to teachers and students.
January 2010 was the first administration of the diploma exams for the new Social Studies program of studies. Overall, the transition to the new examinations has been successful, with marks close to the intended provincial mean of 65 per cent.
It is true that Alberta's diploma exams are generally more difficult than comparable exams in other provinces, or indeed, elsewhere in the world. This is a good thing! The Alberta programs of study have wide respect because they are challenging but by no means impossible. Leading universities like McGill have publicly acknowledged that Alberta students' marks indicate a higher level of achievement than elsewhere, and that this positively influences their admissions decisions.
Removing written response from math and science exams
Last fall, I made the controversial decision to remove the written response portion of the math and science diploma exams. As was expected when this decision was made, the removal of this component has not affected student marks.
While many people assume that students performed better on the written response component of the mathematics and science diplomas, this is not the case. For example, the provincial averages for the past 15 administrations of Biology 30 show that in 12 of the past 15 administrations, the average on the written response was lower than the machine-scored portion, while in Pure Math 30, 11 of the past 15 administrations have had a lower average on the written response portion than the machine-scored portion.
French Language Arts 30 and Biology 30
In response to concerns about the timing of diploma exams in January and June 2010, the diploma exam schedule was adjusted so that most students would write only one exam per day. However, French Language Arts 30 and Biology 30 were scheduled on the same day, as relatively few students wrote both these exams. Education staff analyzed the diploma results from January 2010 and found that the results of the 181 students who wrote both exams were comparable to the results of students who wrote only one exam that day.
High Stakes Testing and the Weighting of Exams
I am well aware of suggestions that Alberta's testing programs are "high stakes tests" that place undue stress on students. In the case of Grade 3, 6 and 9 Provincial Achievement Tests, these assertions are simply untrue. Those tests do not drive curriculum (as with the diploma exams, assessments are constructed after the curriculum has been prepared), and they have no impact on students' progress or teachers' pay or promotion. They exist solely to provide to teachers, parents, principals, superintendents and Alberta Education information that can be used to formulate improvement strategies.
It is a matter of concern if, as a result of outcomes on achievement tests or diploma exams, superintendents put pressure on principals who then pressure teachers to improve test results by inappropriate means. There is, however, nothing wrong with a superintendent or principal recognizing jurisdiction or school-wide problems and endeavouring to effect strategies or supports which address the problem. I am very interested in hearing from teachers and principals who have been pressured to improve test results by inappropriate means, but while I have heard a lot of second hand stories, no one has yet come forward to describe a personal experience of this nature. (Please contact me if this has happened to you!)
In the case of Grade 12 diploma exams, these tests are high stakes for students, as they are exit exams which form half of a student's final grade, can be the deciding factor in whether or not a student passes a course or achieves a high school diploma, and have a significant impact on post-secondary admissions and scholarship awards.
However, I have yet to be convinced that any of these functions is inappropriate for a diploma exam. It is entirely appropriate to check that students have learned what they are expected to learn over the course of their time in school. In passing a class or receiving a diploma, I have to question whether a student has really fulfilled our expectations of him or her if the diploma exam is what makes the difference between success and failure — a final mark of 51 per cent is not all that different from a final mark of 49 per cent. The point of education is to truly understand, not achieve the bare minimum to step over a statistical hurdle. And student success in high school — both in class work and on the diploma exam — prepares students for challenges to come in post-secondary programs which involve much more difficult and time-restrained final exams.
To me, it is an open question whether diploma exams should be given the same weight as teachers' marks in determining students' final marks. Many people have suggested otherwise, variously pointing to 60, 70 or even 80 per cent as the appropriate teacher-assigned fraction of a student's final mark. In my view, adjusting the weighting necessitates having the assurance that teachers are marking students on a common, consistent basis.
Teachers and assessment
Ultimately, discussion about diploma exams and teacher-awarded marks comes down to two issues: whether diploma exams are an appropriate assessment of all the attitudes, skills and knowledge that students are expected to learn; and whether teachers' assessment of the same is consistent across the province. I believe we need to improve on both counts.
While Alberta's diploma exams are built to be a complete assessment of the content in our programs of study, there are skills and attitudes which cannot be effectively measured by a pencil and paper test. As we look at the next steps arising from Inspiring Education, we will be moving to a competency-based system that also emphasizes other student abilities, like thinking creatively and critically, building relationships and being resilient. There will still be a place for pencil and paper tests like our current diplomas, but our assessment programs will likely be much different from those of today.
As a matter of fairness to students, it is essential that teachers across the province assess their students to a common standard. We do not need standardized assessment if we have standards of assessment, and unfortunately, I do not believe we presently have standards of assessment of a sufficiently high caliber that are widely understood by teachers, principals and the general public. There can be a great deal of variation in the curricular expectations of different schools and the assessment practices of teachers, which is not fair to students.
Diploma examinations are of great benefit to teachers in implementing a new curriculum because reviewing detailed results can identify areas where improvements to instructional programs are needed; however, it generally takes a few years for teachers to adjust to a new program. Regrettably, the ATA does not permit staff from Alberta Education's Learner Assessment sector to speak with teachers at specialist councils and conventions on matters related to the tests, depriving teachers of a valuable professional development opportunity.
As I noted above, we are working with the ATA, ASBA and deans of education to ensure that new and continuing teachers develop the skills they need to fairly assess our students. Until we have these standards of assessment, diploma exams are a consistent common assessment that is marked to a common, unbiased standard.
We have already had several fruitful discussions about the future of assessment, and will no doubt be having many more in the coming months. It is crucial that we get assessment right — our students deserve no less. As always, I welcome your input.
I can see Diplomas being worth perhaps 30% of a student's final grade. The 50% seems a bit excessive, especially when a student has worked very hard all semester to achieve good grades and then to have half their final mark determined by one two hour exam. Even in University the final exam is usually not worth more than 40% of your final grade. It just seems to me that the teacher's assessment of a student should carry more weight than a one-time, often stressful, exam.
The table of diploma results you show says that Science 30 is not used for post-secondary acceptance. I am a nursing student at Grant MacEwan and my Science 30 course was used for post-secondary acceptance into my program. Are you saying that Science 30 is no longer going to be accepted for post-secondary programs?
Sam Crawford
Dear Minister Hancock,
Thanks for this communication. I think it's great that you are posting these blogs.
With respect to standardized tests, there are (at least) two important issues that I would like to see addressed. The first is the way(s) in which achievement results are used by some schools, parents, and organizations to "market" a school as superior. Often such tactics rely on simplistic understandings of what the statistics mean. Further, achievement exam scores eclipse other aspects of the important work that schools do. Schools working hard to meet the needs of lower SES students or high numbers of recent immigrants may be branded "bad" schools because achievement scores are not as high as schools serving higher SES families.
The second issue I'd really like to see you address is how standardized exams, along with a packed curriculum, leave teachers and students with so little time to engage deeply with the curriculum, or explore those wonderful, serendipitous "teachable moments" that offer significant learning opportunities. There's nothing worse, as a teacher, than saying, "we have to stop learning now, kids, because we have to get back to the curriculum."
I don't disagree that schools should be accountable for a standard curriculum, and for providing all kids with quality learning experiences. But are standardized tests really the only way we can do this? And could we at least acknowledge that while standardized testing addresses some problems, it also creates new ones?
Thanks very much,
Laura Servage
Doctoral Student, Educational Policy Studies
University of Alberta
The Alberta Teachers Association has provided a response to the Minister's blog post which can be found on the Real Learning First blog.
I have decided to go into the school of business. I just need my math 30. I am now going to night school for my second and last semester there. My first semester my mid-term was 92% and my final was 86%. I did so well on my final and all term long that it wouldn't have mattered much if my final were worth 50% or 30% of my grade.
But where it does matter is now in my math 30 course. As I will be doing my diploma exam as a prerequisite into SAIT. This semester I have been faced with an obstacle that I would have never saw coming. An obstacle that could very well re-direct my future and in a negative way.
I have wide respect for teachers as their jobs are hard, the pay isn't what is should be and teachers do put up with a lot of immature students as well as impossible students I am sure. But my fury, is how one teacher has complete control over a students course term testing and marking. I feel that I have been treated very unfairly and I have no control to make any changes.
My teacher has made up her own tests that are NOT based on my math book or math workbook. I don’t know where she is getting her material from. It has made it so much harder for me to get by this term. I just don’t think its very fair. She has admitted that she wants her students to push beyond their parameters. My only thought to that was, "We should be studying the book material that was given to us and not going way beyond that material."
At this point, I am starting to believe that maybe a standard curriculum would be more suffice. At least I would be confident that my teacher is NOT setting me up for failure. I am THANKFUL today that my final diploma mark will be 50% of my term final grade. If it weren't, I would certainly fail and not be able to get into SAIT. The fact that the diploma is not 100% written by my teacher gives me hope that I still might pass and start living my dream out loud.
I am a grade 12 student, and I have achieved good grades my whole life. All of jr. high, as well as my high school years my average has been over 80% .. up until grade 12 that is. So Minister of Education, are you telling me that my teachers have been lying to me my whole educational career? Are they just liars, and I am actually stupid because one TWO HOUR TEST determined that for me? My whole life I have been reinforced I have been a good student, while this one test told me I was not. Something does not match up here. I do not understand how I can go in with a 90% and finish with a 70%. Yes, I know the "stats" may not align with my experience- BUT I DO NOT WANT TO BE JUST A STATISTIC. I am an individual with dreams. I worked my butt off my senior year, and I didn't play basketball this year either. Want to know why? It was because I was being devoted to my STUDIES. I knew what was at stake in January with these exams. I have been playing competitive basketball since jr. high and in grade 12 I would have liked to return to my senior team. I was trying to be responsible for my future, so instead of basketball I devoted my time to PAID tutors for extra study sessions and PAID diploma prep classes, in order to insure success on these ridiculous exams. I feel like I should've just played basketball and I should have just saved my money from the tutors because my diploma marks showed absolutely nothing for my preparation. Nothing. So- thank you Alberta government, for absolutely diminishing my confidence. Thank you for wasting my money. Thank you for ripping away my 85% average. Thank you for taking away thousands of dollars in scholarships. Thank you for taking away University acceptances. Thank you for putting my future on the lines of a two hours test that is strictly multiple choice- in which some students struggle with. Thank you for shooting for a 65% average on your stupid tests. Let me ask you this: why would you set your students up for failure? You yourself proved that classroom marks are always higher than diploma scores. It's like you want our grades to go down. So thanks for that too I guess. I was accepted into 5 universities, I put in hours and hours of time studying for exams. It is not like I am someone who doesn't care about my education- BECAUSE I DO. Also- about the Math 30 Pure exam. Is it not true that the so called "secure" test got leaked, and that people had access to this? Is it not true students were caught CHEATING on this exam? If a few kids got access to this, who is not to say there were thousands more, just no one knew it? How is it fair those Math 30 exam marks were being counted into our marks when the exam was not even secured!!!! Once again, not fair. Also I have talked to social teachers from different schools, and different school divisions and EACH ONE OF THEM SAID their averages were significantly lower than any other year. The teachers from my school said it was one of the hardest exams they've seen in a long time. How are students suppose to adapt to this. The other thing is it seems the only students who appreciate these exams are the kids who DEPEND ON THEM to pass. It is easy for a kid to walk into a multiple choice test, score a 50%, and pass the course. It seems Alberta Education is just reinforcing the kids who don't put any effort into their studies. While, someone like myself, going in with an 86%, worked hard all year and devoted hard work into that mark just get a slap in the face. It is NOT likely for a student to score an 86% on a diploma, so I went into the diploma with a feeling of automatic failure because I almost knew my mark was going to drop. It also seems Mr. Hancock is somewhat blaming teachers for declining diploma scores- but this is completely not fair. Teachers absolutely HAVE to "teach to the test." How can they not? THAT TEST is worth the WHOLE semester that the teachers have been teaching us! It is NOT the teachers fault for a flaw in Alberta Education.
I, being a grade twelve student, feel that the diploma exam counts for too much of a student's final grade. All year students work extremely hard and write multiple tests but then one exam determines fifty percent of your grade! Especially this year with the leak of the Pure Math 30 exam, I have come to feel that hard work is not rewarded. A student who works endlessly may get a bad mark just because they had ONE bad test. Another student simply has a good day and ends up with a good mark. We should try to create a system that will allow us to trust(with great confidence)that teachers will not inappropriately increase students' course marks.
Minister Hancock,
I agree that your communication here is welcomed and is important. As a Social 30 and 30-2 teacher as well as English 30 and 30-2, I do tend to 'hear' the students who resent the 50% weighting of the diploma exam. It is a shame that a year's worth of study and assignments should only count for half a student's mark. This is creating problems for teachers and for students. One difficulty for teachers is that if you know your hard-working, intelligent students are most likely going to receive an average of 10% less on their diploma exam, you MAY want to inflate their mark slightly to offset this almost guaranteed discrepancy. Just a thought, one which I am sure you have considered.
And so, though I agree that there must be standards and that the bar should be high (as we humans generally only jump as high as we need too), in the real world our system appears to be failing students and is rather demoralizing for teachers.
P.Graham
I think it is beneficiary for the goverment if people are uneducated. The less people know the more goverment could get them under control. In this case spending 30 million each year out of tax payers money and making diploma exam worth 50%(so everybody is guaranted to fail, and no one have access to university) make so much sense. Alberta provincial goverment will do anythink to keep student from getting into university so they get smarter. APG out their know a smart citizens is also dangerous to the govermet citizens. So keep making diploma exam more difficult and spend more money on diploma exam( instead of putting those money toward scolarships) and you are guaranted to have better future for this province!
I'm a grade 12 student, and I think that the 50% threshold is fine. Compared to the work expected of us in class, the diploma exams have so far addressed straightforward knowledge and concepts which anyone who has been paying attention in class and studying should be able to comprehend. The standard of excellence is quite achievable, and I'm a little disappointed that so many Albertan students find themselves unable to achieve this reasonable standard. (For a standard that is much more contentious and difficult, look at the IB's curriculum).
I think that the weighting of a diploma exam so high is necessary to ensure that our students are competent when they proceed into the world of work and/or post-secondary education. This assessment helps implement a system of checks and balances against teachers who may inflate (or deflate) students marks due to teaching methods, personal sentiments, or personal marking methods. If a teacher suspects their students are going to do poorly on the diploma, perhaps their teaching methods need to be reevaluated.
So long as one has been provided the necessary materials, I believe that it is possible to achieve a standard of excellence on these exams. In layman's terms: It's not rocket science.
Zak Turchansky
Honestly, I am much more concerned about getting the marks required to get into university than having the right "skills and attitudes."
What matters even more is if you are applying for foreign universities, it is unfair to be graded lower that the students with equivalent knowledge from other provinces.
Simply not being able to achieve the marks needed to enter university due to the "generally more difficult" exams prevents albertan students from their potential opportuinities to prove that they are better.
As an international student who chose to come to Alberta for my high school education, I can't help feeling somewhat regretful about the decision. If I ever knew about the fact that the Albertan diploma exams were harder compared to other provinces, I would have thought about the decision a little more carefully.
50% of your mark? That is ridiculous! Like Jen said above, why would our government want our marks to drop 10%...? A little less weighing system would be nice, but who am I to care anymore because I am in my final year of highschool, and this will be my last time writing these diplomas and I WANT the kids younger than me to go through what I have went through. I have one other thing to say. What if you have a HORRIBLE teacher that does not teach you properly and they make their own tests that in comparison to a diploma exam are so much easier, that someone would think you were cheating all year! The teacher I had skipped a unit in Chemistry last semester, how stupid is that? It's not like that unit was NOT gonna be on the diploma, how could the teacher know that! This semester in Biology was no different. She decided to teach us the hardest unit of BIO 30 last, so in the last 2 weeks before diplomas we were rushing to finish DNA stuff!! How is that fair? Then she gave us a unit exam that dropped students marks by at least 5% (my friends dropped by 10%!)... You can't always blame us doing bad on diplomas when in fact, it could be the bad teacher teaching it. I have my BIO diploma tomorrow, wish me luck, cause I'm 100% sure that my 70% average is going to go down to 50%... THANKS Alberta!!
I question the fairness of the Social Studies 30-1 test administered in January. The students who wrote this test were the first students to study the new curriculum. They had teachers and exam markers new to it as well. When it came time to prep for the diploma, it was really hit and miss. The sample written part did not correspond to the real test given. The multiple choice had questions that required advanced reading skills and decoding of tricky wording.
However, the true unfairness is the fact that Alberta Learning posted the January test on their website with sample student responses. This gave students writing the test in June an enormous competitive advantage over the students who wrote the exam in January. [Competitive because these students are competing for scholarships and seats at universities.] They were able to prepare for the exam, knowing what to expect and how the markers would mark their work. They also had the advantage of being taught by teachers who had been through the curriculum during the first semester. If the mulitiple choice was the same test, then the June students would have known a general idea of where the areas of study should be.A more fair way to have handled this situation would have been to have kept the part A secure until after the June date.
Finally, I know many students took a position on their January position paper, requesting a rescore. To me, this is Social Studies at its best. Students were compelled to debate an issue and follow history makers with taking a stand. It seems unbelievable that some/many rescore marks were 15% lower or higher. How could this happen? I feel students receiving lower marks for this particular test should have their higher mark recorded.
I do not think that the diploma exams should be worth 50% of the course mark. Many of the students worked very hard during the year and tried to raise their marks up to their highest possible standard. However, when a 3 hour test ends up being worth what an entire semester of work is, something is wrong. High school is supposed to help prepare you for university. Rarely in university will you ever find one single test worth 50% of your grade. So how is this fair to do it in high school, especially when this method is only used in that one important year?
Another thing is why is the average set to 65%? Most class averages are about low to mid 70's. So why have a test designed harder to make marks drop lower, especially since they have such a large weighting? This doesnot make sense. Also, if everyone in the province writes this, and the average is set to 65%, this average must counter all the people in IB, AP, and all the people in other more challenging curriculums, since they often find the diploma much easier and therefore do better on them. How is this fair to all those who may not be as good in that particular subject, especially since it may need to be used to get into university, college, or wherever else people may go?
It is also not fair that there is no previous testing for new curriculums such as the social studies curriculum. As I took this course in the first semester of the new curriculum, I did not find it fair. Teachers were only just learning the curriculum themselves, and we did not get as good an education as if we were to take it a few years down the road when we would no longer be guinea pigs. There were also no diploma practice questions that we could use to help us figure out if we were on the right track or not. This gives us a much lower advantage than all the other years, and trying to compensate for this through one diploma exam does not do it justly.
I agree with many of the decisions that Alberta Education has made over the years- especially getting rid of the written portion of the science and math exams. To put it simply, when I wrote my Chem 30 diploma the year before, my final diploma mark was 85 but I got a low mark on my written portion.
However, I must disagree with the value of diploma marks being 50%. It is a ridiculous thing to have half of your mark determined by two hours. A student in high school feels so much pressure because everything they've done during the year doesn't count for much unless they do well on the diploma exams. I know many people who have had excellent marks, studied hard, then blanked out when it came to a particular topic on the exam. They've aced that part before, but then can't remember a thing about it. There are no real second chances- even the rewrite is so far into the summer that most students would be working full time by then. Do they really have time to study?
Diploma exams also downplay some things. In some courses, something the student studied for a long time may only have 8 questions on the test about it. Not a topic- the entire unit!
I know that the value of the exams must be high, but I don't think it has to be completely half. If it was even 45%, I think it would be fine.
I agree with Jen, as I was a grade 12 student this past year and just the thought or the word "diploma" made me cringe. The majority of students at my high school were beyond stressed, even during the beginning of the year and mostly because everyone was trying to make their marks as good as possible. Why? Because we all know going in to a diploma there is a good chance our marks will drop a good 10%, so say goodbye to your confidence at the door. Although, some students who successfully achieve 75% and higher don't necessarily stress as much about a diploma, as those who get a lower mark. Now those who struggle in specific subjects, like I do, math being my struggle, the diploma became increasingly unfair. Does it not seem unfair? That students who struggle in a specific subject spend hours and money on a tutor and diploma prep courses; to only receive a bad grade in the end. By the time the marks finally arrive, its too late to register for summer school and I know even some students who just took courses in summer school because they FEARED they had failed their diploma. Seems extremely silly that students have to go to great lengths over a two hour test, don't you think? So then after you've spent time and money on a tutor and diploma prep; you also have to dish out more money to retake the evil thing. I know hancock stated above that they spend 10.5 million on diplomas each year, well there goes a ton of scholarships and funds that would go towards better things. I would really like to know the percentage of students who end up failing or not receiving their high school diploma because of diploma examinations. I think 50% is excessive and unnecessary, if I had known this earlier I would have stayed in my home town where grade 12 examinations are worth 30%. I also love how more unfair the diplomas are now because of taking away the written portions on science math diplomas. For a student like myself who does better on written portions than multiple choice, is faced with an unfair advantage. I can no longer show my skills in written work, instead they are shown in a multiple choice bubble and let me tell you multiple choice questions can be pretty unfair themselves. Now that I am faced with having to redo a diploma, I am stressed, extremely unhappy and angered; I have worked hard my entire school year and have nothing to show for it now. I have to push back post secondary opportunities now and reevaluate what I am going to do. I would also like to add that one specific teacher I had, not naming any names, was so disgusted with diploma exams she openly talked about how diploma exams were extremely unfair and biased; she mentioned that one year a diploma exam had 10 questions that were unrelated to anything the students had learned and wasn't taught in the curriculum. She then made sure every year after to look over each diploma so that she could help her next years students get through the diploma. So now I am faced with another dreaded diploma, i'm out some more money, more time and a lower overall average. Hats off to you Alberta Education, you sure want to see students do well don't you?
When students with high grades write the diploma exam and score lower than their classroom mark it becomes evident that teachers and not getting the job done. I blame a certain degree of this on mainstreaming and hope Alberta takes stand against this. It is good that Alberta is setting a high standard for the diploma exams. I feel that teachers have adequate time, access to resources, and ample training to prepare students for this exam. More should be done to ensure academic standards are maintained in the school system. Schools and teachers whose students perform poorly on the diploma should be held accountable. It is not fair for a certain segment of teachers to work hard and strive for excellence while other's do very little. There should be standardized tests for every grade level and subject. More importantly, everyone should be held accountable.
I find it absolutely ridiculous that the diploma exams are worth 50% of the final 30 course mark.
I am a very hardworking student and constantly strive to achieve mid 80's. With that being said, I recently completed the chemistry 30 course and diploma during the summer in order to lighten my load in my senior year. I studied extremely hard all summer and devoted my summer to chemistry, in doing so, I achieved an 80% average on the course work. Following the in class work, we had exactly a week to study for the diploma exam, however, my family departed on vacation during this time, and I ended up only having under two days where I could effectively study. Taking all of the work I did over the summer into consideration, it is a shame that I essentially threw away an entire summer in a lost cause, as I may end up having to retake the course during the school year. And this is all due to a test that is worth half of our mark! In addition, as I was in summer school we had literally no time for in class preparation, and as a result I was very overwhelmed during the test, despite the fact that I studied every hour possible, and felt that I could succeed.
The diploma exams should be worth a maximum of 25-30%, as at this percentage, the test will not make or break your mark, however it will significantly affect it. In addition, I am a strong supporter of the written portion of tests, as I believe that all students strive under different methods, and I personally am strong at the written, the written also really shows if the individual has a decent knowledge of the subject.
These highly weighted diploma's are particularly unfair, as I am trying to boost my average up, in an effort of pursuing post-secondary, and this currently seems impossible with regards to the diplomas I have to write in my upcoming year.
As an educator I find the 50% weighting is a strong motivator for students and can enhance their overall learning. It is not unusual to have 60 or 70 percent finals in university so it is in line with where they are going. Finally, it serves as an equalizer to students who are competing for post-secondary placement. My two cents.
While I agree that the diploma exams are an important part of showing a student's understanding of the curriculum, I disagree completely with the fact that one test is worth 50% of my final grade. You see, my grades are generally in the mid-70's, so if, for some unexplained reason, I do poorly on one two-hour exam, I fail the course and most likely lose my chance at a diploma and post-secondary education.
diploma exam must be worth less like 40%....
I am currently a grade eleven student. I am generally a good student and have always gotten good marks. Forever i have suffered from test anxeity though and this can really effect me mark for the entire year. Having your diploma mark worth 50% only makes this worse for me and many other students who get nervous. A three hour exam should not be worth the same amount as an entire semester of work.
All my life i have been told I will succeed in my long term life goals, But when my life all depends on an exam thats worth 50% of my grade is alittle drastic. When i'm currentaly in grade 11 the stress of grade 12 is already haunting me. Why should one province be so differet in one country we should all be testing the youth of tomrrow the same in every province. So we can all have a chance to a successful and full life.
dear Mr. Hancock,
I am a grade 11 student and I am quite concerned about my future. I would like to join the military, for which you need at least an 80 in math, physics, and other courses. To achieve this i will most definately work hard, do homework, and pay close attention in class. Unfortunately, this in no way makes me prepared for the diploma exams in grade 12. A 50/50 split is in no way fair to the hardworking student, or the teacher, as those marks will reflect on them too. No where else in life will I ever be required to take a test worth 50% of my YEAR long mark. 277 hours will be put in by me- in class only, not to mention the hours at home that i will spend working. To have all that time and effort made irrelavent by ONE 3hr test is not only a waste, it is an outrage. Will i need this kind of preparation for university? For future jobs? NO! No where else in even in Canada is this a necessary evil. Not only does this one test jeprodize my 80% plus average, it jeprodizes my future.
I can appreciate that you have a hard job. That you work hard to do well and cannot see to every small detail. However, this is a major issue as it affects hundreds of seniors in Alberta year after year. Hundreds of students that have seen their dreams of engineering, advanced sciences, doctorates and sciences whipped away by one test.
A 30/70 split would be much more fair, it would be more humane, and it would greatly reduce test anxiety, which can be severe. A 30/70 split would save many countless nights of brooding about the future because their choice career is no longer an option. Eventually it would probably even clean up the streets as more people would be employed. Please seriously consider what I have said. A 30/70 split.
thank you
As an Alberta student currently in grade 11 I personally feel that the stress of writing a final exam worth 50 percent of my final mark in grade 12 is unfair. I have achieved honour roll in all my years of school through junior high and highschool so far and I'm suppossed to be able to write one exam and in those few hours if I totally flunk that exam my whole future goes out the window, considering that there are provinces like British Columbia that don't even have to write final exams.
I think that it is more then fair to say that our final marks should be based on a 70/30 percent average. We spend 133 hours in class working hard all year in order to achieve good marks and in 3 hours we are expected to ace a final exam, knowing that it is worth 50 percent of our final grade. Our final exam mark is worth more than a students final in university, which is also based on a 70/30 percent average.
As a student in grade 11 in Alberta I do not think grade 12 exams should be worth 50 perecent of our marks. If we do bad on this one test it can affect our whole lives. Thats alot of pressure to put on a high school student. We work hard all year long to get the hightest possiable mark we can so we can just have our hopes crushed by the exam. Speaking from personal experiance i know i do not do as well on tests compared to everyday assignments.
I think it is also unfair because we are one of the only provinces in the country who weigh our exams this high. It is not fair for us to being competeing for secondary schooling with students whos exams have been marked lower. Our entire life is depending on this one exam not the work we put in all year long.
I am currently in grade 11. I don't have bad grades but they aren't the best. I do think it is fair that the diploma exam is worth 50% of my mark because that is a lot of pressure to do good and many people do not test well under pressure-myself being among them. The evaluation should be switched to 70/30 estead of 50/50 to give people a better chance of doing good. The pressure of knowing that the diploma exam could affect your mark so much is over whelming. The test is pretty much made to bring your mark down. That is no where near fair for students who do good and work hard the whole year and almost bomb the diploma exam. I don't want to bust by butt to know that I have a 50% chance of failing. Then all that hard work throughout the year would be gone to waste. I hope you take my comment into opinion into account and give grade 12 students a better chance at doing good on diploma exams.
Hello Mister Hancock,
I am currently in grade 11 and am not pleased with the way the exams are worth. I may not succeed in my life with the careers that i want and fulfill my life long dreams because of these marks. There is so much stress cause of the way these exams are being marked, and how much they are worth. I think you should reconsider how much the exams are worth, and look at the other provinces' educational ways. Theres no other province that has the same 50/50 marks as we do. When I am older and have children, i plan on enroling them to a BC school so they will not have the pressure and stress like all grade 11 students are having here in Alberta,and I hope by leading by example, many other future parents/current parents will also enrole their kids in a BC school.
Grade 11 students have jobs,everyday lives and school to all balance out but its difficult to go to work, get back late, and still study for the exam the next day. Their future career depends on that mark, but with everything that happens in life; theres hardly enought time to balance everything out. This is why I think you should change it to 70/30 instead of 50/50.
You were a teenager once, and I want to remember my highschool years with a smile, not a frown.
Thank you,
A disappointed grade 11 student.
I am presently in grade 11 and I have heard through the grape vine that are final exams are waited 50/50%. I don't see the logic behind having are exams waited the same as the people in university. Also why do we Albertans, only we, in all of Canada have to be waited this gnarly. I don't see the reasoning. What about the kids that maybe are not as good at tests as others,what about them. They do good all year only to find out that because of one test there in the hole. If you change the waiting to 70/30% everyone would do alot better in school and tests. they wouldn't have to stay home and bury their heads into their work and then come to take the test and barely pass the thing and end up failing the the whole school year; it is complete bologna.
I am currectly in grade 11, and I am very worried about my grade 12 diplomas. The weighting on our exams is 50/50. We are the only province in Canda with that kind of weighting on our grade 12 diplomas, which I find very unfair. Other provinces (that even HAVE diplomas) have a weigght of 70/30 on diplomas. Also, Universities and colleges have the same weighting [70/30]. If every province had the same weighting of 50/50 we would some what be okay with it, but the fact that Alberta is the only province that has there diplomas worth 50% of a students final mark, is wrong. Our country should be equal. EVERY student should have an equal chance of achieving greatness, but because of the 50/50 weighting students in Alberta do great all year and then when it comes to the test they do not do good on it at all. Some students have text anxiety, which is very hard to overcome during a simple quiz. Imagine sitting in a desk for two hours thinking that if you fail this test you possibly almost fail the WHOLE class. There is no reason that Alberta should have a high weighting of diplomas than any other province in Canada. We should be equal, so each student is set up for achievement. Plus, every student should not drop EVERYTHING else their life just to devote all their time and effort into studying. We are all still kids, we need to live our life and enjoy it - not have it taken away by the fact that we have to study our butt off just to fail. Please respond to the students in Alberta, because we are truly worried about failing. We need the weighting of our diplomas to change so we have the reassurance that we can go into the exam and achieve the mark we worked so hard to deserve.
Dear Mr.Hancock:
I am currently in grade eleven and i am very worried about the diplomas at the end of grade twelve. i am an honor role student and i do not believe that it is fair that one three hour exam can decide my future. i have very bad test anxiety, and i get so stressed out that i can not sleep. the morning of an exam i can not function.
in grade ten we are weighted the same amount for an exam as a university student. this is not fair! not only are albertas diploma exam wheighed more than a university students but it is weighted higher than any other provinces. BC students do not have to a write finals and ontario students diploma exam is weighed only 30%. this is not fair because an albertan student will have a lower average than any other province making albertans last accepted into universities.
having a 50-50 split pretty much is saying that you are expecting albertan students to fail later on in life. so how many students do you want to suceed in life? because with a fifty fifty split more students will fail at life then if alberta were to have a 70-30 or even a 60-40 split.
please mr. hanckock consider lowering how much albertas diploma exams are worth.
Dear, Mr.Hancock
I am presently in grade 11 and I have heard that the wating for the grade 12 diploma exam is 50/50. I am a person how does not like to write the diploma exams. I do well on the exams but I do not do get over 80 percent. In grade 10 we all ready had a tough time because the jump from grade 9 to grade 10 was a large jump. It is hard enough now and it will be a lot harder when the diploma exam waiting is 50/50. I do not mind doing the exams but I think that the wating of the grade 12 diploma exam should be 70/30.
Hello Mr. Hancock,
I do not think that using a 50/50 percent systems are at all fair for diploma exams. There are many kids that many not be as smart in a subject as others so they are immediately put as a disadvantage to all other students. There should be equality for all of the provinces. We have a three hour period of that practically decides the fate of the rest of our lives, we could go in with a 60% mark and if we get even 40% we will have to take the whole course over again. Also, a three hour exam is the equivalent to 165 hours of class time which puts alot of stress on students. Even if the percent is dropped to 40% it would change alot.
Dear Mr. Hancock,
The 50/50 exams are much too heavily weighed for grade 12 students. In order for today's generation of youth to succeed in the world, the exams need to be 70/30 in order to help prepare us for the future. How does 133 hours of class time equal 3 hours of exam time? It doesn't make sense to set students up for failure. There should be equity among the provinces. It would be nice to have some stability from one province to another. I know from experience that exams are not one of my strong points. I go into exams as an honour student and come out with much lower marks. How is that fair to have spent hours of class time preparing just so I can bomb the class within 3 hours. Teachers should not be penalized for the mistakes of the board, they want us to do well and until the 50/50 is gone then we won't be able do that. Our exams should be worth less so that we can excel in the future.
Dear Mr.Hancock (but not like will smith)
I am currently in grade 11, and live in Alberta. I am absolutely disgusted with the fact that we work extremely hard in classes all year for 133 hours and are expected to complete a test worth 50% of our marks in just 3 hours! Not all students are able to calmly complete a test, and giving them a short period of time just increases the test anxiety! I myself have test anxiety and know that a limit of 3 hours really makes you sweat. It seems to me that you are lacking common sense if you can't see that this is wrong! We use the 70/30 in university anyways, so why aren't we being prepared for that? I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm not going to go sit in my room and cry about it! I want an actual change! Use some common sense!
Dear Mr. Hancock,
I am currently in grade 11 and had a 95% average last year. While it is necessary to test a person's ability to prepare for an exam, it seems like Alberta is setting itself up for failure when other provinces have 30% final exams or none at all. It is hard to compete when an exam is, on average, 10% lower than a student's year long work. In fact, a three hour test that evaluates half a year's work should be designed to have equal or higher marks!
Students that would like to go to post-secondary school out of province are at a distinct disadvantage. I also believe it is a waste for every province to pay to create a different curriculum. Every province should have the same year and final exam mark weight, and learn the same material to create fair competition on a national level.
The education I receieve is not equivilent to that of larger cities/towns. I have been a 90 + student my whole life, but how does that compare to these kids recieving a better education.
I would like to go to university and get a prosperous career just like my parents and my brothers,but my fear is that I will be unable to do this because of where I live.
The mark I receieve in class will be a 90% or higher because of how hard I work and study, but the problem is this mark the teacher is giving me is based on only what he/she is teaching me.
IF TAUGHT CORRECTLY I SHOULD RECEIVE THE SAME MARK ON THE TEST AS MY MARK IN CLASS... BECAUSE BASED ON MY MARK IN CLASS I KNOW 90% OF THE MATERIAL THEREFORE I SHOULD KNOW 90% OF THE WORK ON THE EXAM.
but. rarely is this the case.
I dont feel I should be reprimended for where I live and the type of education I recieve.
There is too much information crammed into one semester it seems for Chem 30... let alone a 3 hour test!
Also, test anxiety... it's in a lot of our genes you know... and well I face it... it is quite hard to achieve my 90% when I'm sweating, bouncing, head whirling and can't concentrate to save my life...
and for some of us... these test do determine our lives. These 3 hours can change my 90% to a 60% quite easily and how is this fair?
Maybe if the weightings of the test weren't so high the teachers wouldn't be giving us such 'fat' marks in the first place and give us our honest marks instead.
I am not asking to get rid of the exams because I am well aware there are exams in university, all I am asking is lowering the weighting of the exam.
The weighting in most college levels is usually never above 30% anyways.
Or in any other province for highschool for that matter..
I am currently a grade 11 student at Beaverlodge and I am already worried about my marks for grade 12. I am taking all of the academic core classes this year and plan to do the same next year. That will be six final exams where half of my marks will be dependant on an exam I will only get three hours to write. All of my knowledge that was gained over one hundred plus hours of class time is to be crammed into three hours. How is this fair in any way?
What about those that do horribly on tests but exceed in the classroom? Their marks will drastically drop after they hand in that final exam. Then there are the students that get horrible test anxiety even though they may be honour students. I have gotten honours all through junior high and i also recieved honours in grade 10. I consider myself to be a good student. I show up to all of my classes and when i miss class due to an appointment or sickness then i do my best to catch up as quickly as I can.
I may only be sixteen but I am smart enough to realise that we waste way too much money from our school budgets on the final exams. that money could go towards more necessary things for our schools. Yes, I know that the exams are to portray how well the teachers are doing in teaching students. But the majority of the student body is suffering because of it. If you need to know this information on the teachers' ability to teach then find another way. Also, the teachers may be able to prepare us for these exams but it is still us writing them. No matter how prepared we are, it is us writing them, not the teacher.
I don't know what I want to do after I finish high school, but I want to have as many options available to me as possible. Higher marks will help me to have that. The final exams that are worth fifty percent of our final mark negatively affect the majority of students' final grade. If you want to make the exams fair to the students, then make the final exam worth thirty percent. you will find that the teachers are doing their job even with it worth less.
I am a fairly smart student. I take all of the harder core courses such as math pure and physics. I also am a very athletic boy I play football, do cross country running, hockey, possibly basketball, and track & field. With all these sports comes money I work hard to make to afford them. My single mother pays for hockey and helps me fund my other sports as I pay the majority of other sports. With work and sports taking up most my time I am constantly busy and struggling to keep in honors marks or near them. I have thought lots about going to a college or university and I will be going to one after high school considering I have the marks to quallify. I cannot afford to fail or lose majority of my marks due to the 50/50 split between the school year and final exam. I work hard for my marks in class and do not wish to lose them to a 3 hour test. Even if I quallify for college or university with minimual grades I will have no hopes for scholarships acedemically which would be very helpfull in paying for the school fee's that come with college. With this being said I hope you consider reducing the value of final exams and essays, outgoing students such as myself will need the help.
50% of your grade 12 mark is on the final exams... that doesnt make a lotta sence... I mean that whole year all brought down by a 2 hour test? And the test is made to be lower then your average in the first place...
But that means that people who have been working hard all year to get competitive averages could be could get there dreams torn out of there hearts in a matter of 2 hours because of test anxiety and stress brought on to them from the high graded exams.
As a grade 11 student in alberta, i strongly dissagree with the 50/50 weighting on grade 12 exams. Is it fair for a student that has acheived 80 plus marks all through their schooling years, to have all of their dreams crushed by one exam? Not to mention the stress of having to write an exam for any core subject that they are taking to acheive their goal. The anxiety of having half of your years work being ruin by one 2 hour exam puts alot of pressure on teenagers.
I recently wrote my grade 10 math pure exam through correspondece. I finished the course during the summer. I did the ENTIRE course in 2 months, i had high marks over 80% on all of my module and i failed the exam. i finished the course with a 64. is it fair that a GRADE 10 exam was marked 50/50. i do not agree with this. AT ALL.
I agree with Alberta Education's view that every student should have an good education regardless of where they attend school in Alberta. However is a test worth half of the students grade really the best option.
These diploma exams place unnecessary stress on both students and teachers. As a first year university student this fall, I wrote the diploma exams in January and June of this year. I, myself the top student in my class and recipient of the Governor General's Award felt stressed about the exam to a point where eating made me feel sick prior to the exams. I was by no means the most stressed student in the class. My teachers who were not allowed to oversee our exams paced the hallways while we were writing, as our results determine in the eyes of the government how good they are at their job.Is ensuring an equal standard of education across the province really worth the stress these exams cause, when stress is known to lead to health problems?
Even as a high achieving student all of my marks dropped after the diploma exams some by as much as ten percent. In your eyes does that mean I simply didn't know the material or that I was not good at taking tests, as my teacher assigned marks say otherwise. Or does that simply mean that our teachers mark to easy?
Yes I was still able to make it into my chosen university, the University of Calgary in my chosen program. However the diploma exams cost me one thousand dollars in lost entrance scholarships at the university alone. Other students in my class were not so lucky and received letters two weeks before the start of classes this fall letting them know that everything they had planned was a waste and that upgrading was the only place for them, not university or college.
My university also has a high percentage of students from out of province. These students have an easier time getting in to our university as Alberta students marks are pre-lowered by the diploma exams. These out of province students are at an advantage as they do not have exam lowered marks, and in some cases may take the places at our universities that Alberta students would have filled if they had the option of not writing an unfair overweighted exam.
As a student I feel these exams are extremely unfair and I am sure most other students feel the same way.
Dear Mr. Hancock,
I am a teacher at a K-12 school in Central Alberta, and I have always questioned the practice of high-stakes testing. It comes down to the semantics of what we determine the purpose of school to be - if we see it as a "sorting machine" - to root out the wheat from the chaff, then when "[d]iploma exams are designed to have an average of 65 per cent", we don't question this, since it fulfills this purpose. But you and I both know this to be false. Schools are not supposed to be sorting machines, and teachers are not supposed to be the sorters. Students are at school to learn. My job is to create the conditions for learning to occur, and give students the opportunity and set up the environment to make mistakes and learn how to go gracefully from one mistake to the next. Students cannot learn when teachers, parents and even their own peers use each other's mistakes to sort each other into categories - the fear of failure is so great, it actually hinders real learning, and turns the "good" students into strategists, and the less-strategical thinkers into "bad" students rather than authentic learners.
Here is a question that has been bothering me from the first time I ever heard about the Standardized Test craze of this era - if for some reason, many students were able to score high on the final exam and bring the provincial average above the "65% mean", would the Provincial Government issue a statement to all teachers that read something like "Alberta Teachers should be commended for increasing test scores across the province"? No - the difficulty of the test would be increased, the "bar would be raised", and the suspicions of cheating, of questions being too easy, etc. would be used rather than attributing it to students being just plain better at doing tests. This brings up many questions about the purpose of the test in the first place. If teachers were to just "teach to the tests" all semester, give their students high marks, then score highly on these standardized tests, this would likely cause the government to do exactly as I have described above. Ironically, when this occurs on a community or school level, the school is praised for increasing scores, especially by the Fraser Institute, who regularly awards schools that achieve high scores on Diploma exams. Yet more and more teachers are doing this - focusing on the tests rather than the learning, and it is starting to show. It doesn't surprise me that the quality of writing in English 30-1 exams is dropping significantly over the last 5 years. When writing for the sake of appeasing test questions is used as opposed to writing for the sake of learning how to become better writers, the writing becomes poor, mediocre and "enough to pass" - language and expression depends on a natural progression from informal, creative and restriction-free writing to polished, final-draft writing. Placing higher stakes and pushing the limit on what is expected will (not surprisingly) negatively impact the writing by skipping the most important step.
Change is needed if this is to be solved. Making the Dimploma exams worth less, while not solving the problem entirely, at least will take some pressure off of the students to focus on real learning, take the pressure off of teachers to get students to be able to be accountable to the student's learning, and overall, positively influence education towards its real goal - learning. If we ever want to get students to get back to learning how to learn, we need to move out of the industrial age of one-size fits all, and start thinking about a future that empowers students with the autonomy and motivation that drives learning at it most basic level.
when 50% of Ontarians have an average of 80% or higher, how do Alberta students compete for spots that are OUTSIDE of Alberta. Not every student wants to stay here! Please don't try and tell me there's a "system" in place because only Waterloo and McGill have a data bank that takes our 50% finals into the equation with their "factor system."
I just wanted to say that I personally like the objectivity that the finals provide (that way the "gifted" students whose parents have sent them to a charter school have to be just as accountable for their marks). I just think that WITHIN Alberta the system works well but OUTSIDE of Alberta, it puts our kids at a serious disadvantage.
I have completed grade 12 as of 2010 and I must say, 50% of your grade for a 3 hour test is RIDICULOUS! Those teachers gave there time and effort grading test after test, assignment after assignment and it only counts for half of their students mark. Also the English 30-1 multiple coice test was CRAP! It was IDEOLOGICAL, if you were a optomist, you would answer one way, if you were a pecimist you would answer a different way. What are you Alberta Ed? Optomist or Pecimist? To have that F****** test slapped in my face and say, go at it for 3 hours, lets see if you believe the same thing as the people who wrote this test! I Spit On It! You are turining Education into a F****** Game!!!!!! It should be about LEARNING not CONFORMING to Alberta Ed! And That Last Minute Cut Of The Writen Portion Of The Pure Math 30 Exam!! What The ****! To say a question is right or wrong, not giving credit for the students knowledge on all the equations and work! What You Didn't Want TO SPEND THE MONEY TO MARK WRITEN TESTES? YOU WANTED TO SAVE MONEY ON SHIPPING BY PUTTING TWO 30 LEVEL EXAMS ON THE SAME F****** DAY!!!!!!!!!!
Our education system has gone to HELL on a silver platter. GROW UP, DO YOUR JOB, ENSURE THE EDUCATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION!
Ok after reading some more comments I have more to say....
I here comments of "if the students don't do good on the exam, the teachers are failing" Well I have one politicaly incorect thing to say first at those people. F*** YOU! I have had great teachers over my years that say at the school past 6PM HELPING US!!!I was once at school unill 8:30 PM getting help on my Pure Math 30 cource!!!! THIS IS INJUSTICE, A TYRANY OF THE ALBERTA EDUCATION SYSTEM. All of my family members and friends outside of Alberta find Alberta Ed a Farce! Its a Oxymoron! Alberta... Education... HAHAHAH. They Dont Give A S*** About The Students! The teachers are fusterated. One teacher even brought us downtown on free time after school to Protest The Exam Weight, 2 Grade 12 Exams on the SAME DAY, and the Ideological Based Questions! I am Glad I am out if this F***** up system.
And For Future Grade 12 Grads... KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THE SYSTEM, THIS IS NOT EDUCATION, THIS IS A GAME TO THEM. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. BY PROTESTING WE CHANGED THE FACT THAT WE HAD 2 GRADE 12 EXAMS ON THE SAME DAY. IF YOU ARE AT FAULT OF INJUSTICE, DO SOMETHING, DON'T JUST TALK.
Thank You... (to the furure students, not to you Alberta "Education")
Hello Mr.Hancock,
I am a grade 12 student and I am very worried for my Chemistry 30 diploma exam. In the past years I have had a 85+ in my Science courses and have a 90% average in Biology 30 but I feel that my teacher for Chemistry 30 is not paying attention to students like me who are having trouble this year. My class average is very high but students like myself who are having a hard time this year are barely passing. I am working very hard, have a private tutor, doing all the questions in the book and reviewing using study guides but all that is not paying off. I wish to go into a life sciences program at university and Chemistry 30 is a necessary requirement for that program. I feel that teachers should be pressed to help students who are having difficulty so that they do well in class and on their diploma exams. If I do not recieve help now there is no way I can pass the diploma exam.
Hello Mr. Hancock
i wrote my Math 30 Pure Diploma exammination today. Coming out of the exam, my math teacher said to me "that was one of the hardest tests ive seen yet". He's been teaching for 17 years. 80% of the questions are general, and 20% are standard of excellence. Id say today, there were no "general" questions, not like the questions i studied in the key and on Math 30 explained. These questions were hard.
Before i went in i studied 12 hours at the university paying $50. I spent $210 on tutoring, in a month in a half. and $30 for the Key.
almost $300 was spent on 50% of my mark.
i have never been able to sit down and take a test. a teacher, or anyone, can ask me a question about anything that i have learned in any subject, and i can explain in detail, and give a reason why and the right answer. then i go into a test and come up blank and have a huge problem recalling what i only talked and discussed about moments ago. i have an extreme problem with test anxiety.
All teachers teach their classes based on this exam. Teachers begin talking about the diploma and warning you about in grade 10 at the latest. they teach classes based on what the diploma is going to be on, not the true material that we need to know.
I live in a divorced family, and recently things have gotten really bad around the house. My mother and my step father are ready to divorce. There is constant fighting, making me feel stressed and making an awful atmosphere for studyin. You cannot base 50% on some ones mark for the mood that they are feeling, or what is going on in their personal lives during that period. You do not know what a student has gone through, and somethings that are not their fault.
My personal dream is to be a neurosurgeon, however, with my marks, i should not have this aspiration. Alberta Ed. are you telling me that i should not aspire to be who i want to be? are you telling me to not dream big?
I've heard through the great vine that our generation is supposed to be the generation to change everything, and make our world a better place? if so, shouldn't you be supporting your students and letting students show what they can really do?
Alberta Education, please listen to the student body and their concerns about their education and futures.
OMGSSSSS I wanted to totally want to go TO UNI this summar buttttttttt I failed the diploooomaaaaaa. WHY I worked so hard for the man i dont know. I like dont care how difficult you claim to make it, I still cannot go to uni because of your dumb test.
Minister Hancock: I'm a grade even student writing diploma exams this year. Having seen the statistics associated with the government's decision to weight the diploma exams as they choose to, I understand their importance. However, any final exam, nevermind one worth half of a school grade, is stressful, and when it comes to writing a creative assignment such as those required for social studies and english, this stress is seriously detrimental to the quality of student work. For example, I know many students who are gifted and capable writers, but are unable to focus during exams and even forget prior knowledge because of pressure. Perhaps two separate exams- a midterm a final- worth 25% of a student's mark would alleviate some of this stress, and provide a student time to increase their mark in the case of a poor exam.
The level of frustration I have experienced due to the diplomas is significant and I condemn Alberta Education to even consider giving a single exam that is worth 50%, as even in University, exams are usually worth only 40%. I am a driven student who strives to achieve excellent marks and through a strenuous year of studying, I have achieved 90s in most of my subjects. However, I have extreme test anxiety and ultimately, even though I spent a considerable amount of time preparing for Diplomas, my averages dropped a good 10% in each subject, in result crushing my aspirations of becoming a doctor. How can a whole semester of hard work equate to one single 3-hour exam. I sincerely hope our Minister of Education reads this and realizes just how gravely these Diplomas have impacted us students and how unjust it is that we are among only 2 provinces who have to deal with such nonsense. Although it is too late for me, I ask that next year you reduce the amount Diplomas are worth for my sister who is entering Grade 12 as I do not want her future to be jeopardized by one simple exam. I hope the humanity within you perseveres and you change Diplomas as soon as possible... like next year so thousands of other students don't have their FUTURE ruined just like me. Thanks again.
Thank you very much Mr. Hancock for posting this blog and welcoming comments from your readership.
I think it is important to have active and educated conversations about issues that affect young Albertans.
I am a University of Calgary graduate and an active tutor in the Calgary community for high school students. Many of the students I tutor are extremely bright pupils who understand the concepts taught in the Alberta curriculum. In fact, many of the students know the material taught in their classes much better than I do (which is the way it ought to be anyway).
I continually find that my brightest students do not receive diploma exam marks that reflect their understanding or grasp on the material being tested. A 50% weighting on these exams puts a lot of undue pressure on high school students who are not only hard workers but who are high achievers as well. Pressure to do well on these tests often leads to exam anxiety that often times leads to lower than expected scores on diploma exams.
I have several students who are paying top dollar for private tutoring services while at the same time seeking advice from education psychologists in an effort to deal with anxiety related to their upcoming diploma exams. One extremely bright and capable student, who will no doubt eventually go on to do amazing things in her future, was denied acceptance to University because of lower than expected results on her diploma exams. During our study sessions, she was teaching me the Chemistry curriculum and not the other way around. She does not excel in a standardized test situation and so suffers accordingly when she receives her marks back. I have no doubt that she knows the material, but it is frustrating to see her struggle with these diploma exams.
I realize that there is no easy fix for this ongoing conversation about Alberta's diploma exams. I do know however, that this is not the best testing method for all students and there will certainly be some students who benefit from this testing method, while other extremely bright students may suffer.
This is a difficult topic and I only hope that with time we can engage in meaningful discussion and evoke change in our educational practices that promote education, learning and testing methods for all students.
Many thanks for your time and consideration.
Erin Bowley
MSc Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UofC, 2009
BSc Hons. Biology, UWO, 2005
I think the Diploma Exams are fair to students at the grade twelve level. If we compare it with college entrance exams in other countries its difficulty shows up as one of the easiest. The bottom line is if you don't do well on this exam you'll not likely to excel when you get into university. Universities aren't for everyone, just like some people are good with their hands in making crafts and fixing machines not all people need to go to university.