Pressure mounts; Quebec students, teachers call for elimination of final exams that account for 50 percent of final grade

 

 

Quebec is the only province in Canada where final exams account for 50 percent of high school students’ final grades. Most students say the final exam feels like a judgment call. Some students said that if students can’t remember everything they’ve learned in a year, all their hard work will be wasted in three hours.

Students across the province are preparing for their ministerial exams. The pressure is mounting on students. Concerns are rising about the pressure, the vulnerability of students, and the stifling of creativity. Teachers and students alike are calling for the elimination of final exams. The province has standardized the 10th and 11th grade exams in French, English, math, history, and science. All of these are worth 25 to 35 percent of final grades. But some, including Quebec and Canadian history and basic French as a second language, are worth 50 percent. Other Canadian provinces also administer standardized tests. But teachers and students say they are not as stressful as Quebec's.

Meanwhile, Quebec is not the only province to place such a high value on these tests. Alberta reduced its equivalent diploma exams to 30 percent 10 years ago.