CBE students' grades will not decrease based on assessments while learning from home

While learning at home, no students will see their grades go down from what they were pre-pandemic and all students will have the chance to improve their grades, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said.

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Carma Cornea, principal at Western Canada High School, said knowing their grades won't go down while learning at home is an incredible opportunity for students to pursue learning — without risking failure.

"We want to make sure we give our kids every opportunity to be able to be successful whether they're moving on to post-secondary or carrying on with the next class in the following year," she said. 

Superintendent of school improvement Joanne Pitman said the focus isn't all on grades, though. 

The board is also trying to keep "the joy of learning" alive through a range of ways that don't put pressure on students or their families. 

"We still want them to be curious learners in this context and are trying to support that as best as we can," she said. 

At the high school level, the CBE will use its student assessment platform, PowerSchool to determine students' course averages up until the cancellation of classes in school last month.

For courses that are continuing online or via correspondence, interim achievement can be improved upon, but grades will not decrease based on assessment collected from March 16 until the end of the reporting period.

But, if for whatever reason they are not able to improve, students don't need to feel stressed, according to Cornea.

"They might be sick, or they may actually be dealing with things at home — like a home situation where they aren't accessing technology as regularly as they'd like," she said.

"And so we just want to make sure we give our students every opportunity to be successful. And the interim grade is one that will be used if that's what happens in the end."

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Pitman said grades will be calculated at all grade levels using schoolwork and assessments up until classes were cancelled. Any improvements will be posted online for upper grade levels, and reflected  in final report cards for elementary students in June.

She said assessments will come into play when the board looks at programing and courses being offered in the upcoming school year.

"We're going to need to do a lot of followup in the fall. And we want to have a clear understanding of where our students are at in their learning and so the achievement grade will be part of that understanding," she said.