Education Minister Adriana LaGrange

By Troy Gillard

EDUCATION RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Alberta cancels diploma exams

Mar 20, 2020 | 10:15 AM

The Alberta government is cancelling diploma exams for Grade 12 students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move is part of the plan announced Friday morning by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange for continuing education for students following the cancellation of all in-person classes until further notice.

School districts across the province have also been busy creating education delivery plans and will begin implementing them in the coming days.

RELATED: School divisions readying to resume teaching despite COVID-19

Under special circumstances, students can request to write a diploma exam. Students wishing to do so should speak to their teacher and school administrator.

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“Everyone has come together to chart a path forward as part of our COVID-19 response – teachers, support staff, superintendents, administrators, elected trustees, parents, education associations, the provincial government and many others,” LaGrange said in a release. “It is important that Albertans know that we are all working towards the same goal – to provide the best possible learning situation for our students during this very challenging and unprecedented time.”

Prior to Friday’s announcement, Kieran Monaghan, a student at Notre Dame High School in Red Deer, had started an online petition calling on the province to cancel diploma exams due to the ongoing pandemic. That petition has collected more than 14,000 signatures.

LaGrange says education content for students in grades 10-12 will focus on specified and core courses required for high school graduation requirements, including language (English, French and French language arts), social studies, mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics. Content from other courses will be delivered where possible, and accommodations for students unable to complete courses are in place.

Teachers will assign an average of three hours of work per course per week, and will be expected to work with their students and parents on the delivery of these materials.

Students on track to receive 100 or more credits will still be eligible to graduate and receive a high school diploma. Principals have the ability to award up to 15 credits to students in Grade 12 whose program has been negatively impacted by class cancellations. For any courses that are started, schools will complete them with the student to the best of their ability, provide a final mark and award credits.

If the student is unable to complete a course that would have led them to achieving a high school diploma, such as a work experience or a career and technology studies course, principals have the ability to award credits to ensure the student graduates.

All Grade 6 and 9 provincial achievement tests are also cancelled.