Alberta students pay for help to prep for diploma exams
Pressure on for Grade 12 students as exams determine final marks
As Grade 12 students in Alberta hit the books to prepare for their diploma exams, some of their parents are opening their wallets.
Many are spending hundreds of dollars on tutoring and extra courses to help their children prepare for the exams, which are currently worth 50 per cent of a student's final mark.
Prep courses for individual diploma exams can cost between $75 and $300 and are offered by private institutions and the boards of education in some cases.
Julia Zarkov is a Grade 12 student at William Aberhart High School in Calgary. She took a review course to help her prepare for her chemistry exam.
"You feel like, if I fail this test then I can't get into university and it's like your whole future's wrecked over one exam," she said.
Stan Scott founded Rock the Diploma five years ago. Last semester, about 2,000 students across Alberta signed up for the private company's exam prep course.
"People make the choice because they see this as a useful kind of supplementary tool and that's been going on forever in my opinion," he said.
School boards in Calgary also offer review courses for diploma exams.
Elisabeth MacDonald, a vice-president with the Calgary Catholic school board, says the board operates a variety of evening courses, including review courses for diploma exams.
"We started in January 2010, and that was at the request of parents and students, because they really felt the pressure of the 50 per cent diploma exams and thought they needed something more to study," she said.
"Although they're getting it from their teachers during the class, this is more of an intense study time, getting really ready for those exams that are high pressure for them," she said, adding "they cost $75 for the 12 hours, and that's basically just trying to meet our costs."
The demand for review courses and tutoring could be reduced in the future as the provincial diploma exams will count for only 30 per cent of a student's final mark beginning in the next school year.
However, Stan Scott of Rock the Diploma doesn't think it will have a huge impact on his business.
"We think that there will be an effect, but we really don't know how much. So, we're not terribly concerned."