As students from all over the province prepare to write their ministerial exams, the pressure is high, and so are bets.
Luca Di Fiore, a 11th grade student, says the final exam feels like a trial.
“It seems unfair almost after everything you do throughout the year,” he said.
“Listening to that test you do at the end of the year, regardless of everything you have achieved throughout the year, could change everything for you. [is unfortunate]”
Quebec is the only province in Canada where some Final exams represent 50 percent of the final grades of high school students. Some teachers and students have been pressing for change and want to be heard.
The province has standardized the 10 and 11 exams in French, English, mathematics, history and science – Everything is between 25 and 35 percent of the final degrees.
But some, including the history of Quebec and Canada and basic French as a second language, tell for 50 percent.
Other Canadian provinces also manage standardized exams, but none pondered so much.
Quebec was not always the only province that puts so much emphasis on these exams. Alberta brought its equivalent (diploma exams, up to 30 percent 10 years ago.
Di Fiore explained that if students cannot retain everything they learned during the year, it can make all their hard work feel “useless” when everything is reduced to only three hours.
His classmate, Mia Beauchamp, shared that a bad result of the exam has the power to tear down his mood and confidence and make him doubt if he will spend the year.
“I think it’s very stressful because we can’t remember everything. Teachers are not expected to remember everything, why are we?” She asked.
She believes the weight of the exam should be reduced.
Di Fiore proposed to replace the ministerial exam with monthly standardized evidence of the Ministry.
Although heHe knew the value of maintaining the uniformity of the test to guarantee constant teaching throughout the provincehe He emphasized the need to discuss the reduction of the exam weight.
‘It is not the way the real world works’
Paul Berry, Mathematics teacher and grade 10 and 11 history in High School options, also advocates a reduction in the weight of the final exam. Although it sees its importance, it argued that they should not have the level of prominence currently granted to them.
“[The government treats] These exams such as sacred texts and, such as the Be-Lall and Finals, “he said, adding that the experience is very heavy for many students.
“There is nothing in life where you will face that kind of situation … it is simply not the way the real world works.”
Berry and his colleagues work with many students fighting with mental health and learning disabilities. He expressed concern about whether these students can effectively demonstrate their knowledge under such pressure.
“For the most vulnerable students, it is really they who hit themselves harder,” he said.
Berry also sees the situation as a sign of distrust of teachers, who spend all his year with his students.
“It shows a true lack of appreciation for the work we do and a lack of concern for the consequences of real life that some of these students will face if they cannot comply with what the government considers the standard,” he said.
Current model limits teachers, some Teachers say
Michael Wadden, teacher of degree history 10 and 11 at a secondary school on the West Island of Montreal, commented that it often seems that teachers are “teaching an exam.”
You want to have more freedom to involve students through alternative methods, such as a simulation parliament, debates, analysis and reflection, but says These activities run the risk of reducing exam preparation.
Wadden argued that the current model limits the students’ ability to reflect, express their opinions and adopt a position, skills that say that all teachers would love to encourage them to develop, especially in a course that teaches the Canadian history and Quebec.
Around this time of the year, it begins to see more absenteeism as the students realize that much of the time in the classroom will dedicate themselves to reviewing the material they feel they can study on their own.
Wadden also pointed out that some of his students are dealing with trauma and home problems.
“Having everything so dependent on one day and three hours is not fair for these children,” he said.
Wadden’s colleague, Esther Ste-Marie, teacher of social studies of Grade 7, said that although her students do not write ministerial exams, teachers are already working hard to prepare them for grade 10.
Even so, this year, something new is trying: prioritize a project -based approach and critical thinking.
“It has been working well, but I still have on the back of my head … My students. They still need to be able to do a formal test because in grade 10, they will have to do it like everyone else,” he said.
Ste-Marie said that this reality links teachers with the responsibility of preparing students for ministerial exams.
“The ministry asks us to believe these students ready for the skills of the 21st century so that students for life, make them critical thinkers, but nevertheless they are limiting us,” he said.
“We want them to think outside the box, but we are not allowing them to think out of the box.”
How Alberta Reform benefited students
Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers Association, explained that the decision of the province to make the final exams be worth 30 percent instead of 50 significantly relieve pressure on students.
“It also allowed me as a teacher to evaluate my students in a variety of different ways that show what students know more than to sit down and make their reading understanding in a written test at such a high time,” he said.
“When it is not so heavy or if it is not weighted at all, it allows flexibility to be more creative.”
Quebec Minister Bernard Drainville declared last week that he is not considering any change.
“Fifty percent to guarantee equality, to ensure that we can compare the results of a school with the next one, from one region to the next,” he told reporters.
But I said, while understanding Drainville’s perspective, he doesn’t agree.
“If we are talking about equality, if everyone is 30 years old [per cent]That is still equality, right? “Di Fiore asked.
“And why do students receive pressure on them if what we are trying to evaluate with these [exams] Are school systems? ”
Di Fiore believes that those affected by the current system deserve a voice in the decision.
“If you are a doctor, you talk to your patient about what you feel,” he said. “I think everyone should participate in that conversation so that we can obtain all perspectives.”
The new regulations will prohibit students in public and private schools that use electronic devices in school property as of September 2025. Quebec Minister Bernard Drainville, hopes that regulation will lead to a better concentration and socialization among students. The rules also establish requirements for how students are addressed to teachers and staff.
