Diploma marking payment restored to teachers

Education minister Jeff Johnson has reinstated the $200 honorarium paid to teachers to mark diploma exams on regular working days.

The payment was recently cut in half. But in a letter to teachers, Johnson said that he has restored the payment.

Frank Bruseker, a Calgary union local president and former head of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, says it’s a step in the right direction. However he believes that teachers should be paid more for marking the exams. 

“In fact, it should probably not only be restored but probably be doubled from where it is to something 3 or $400 a day,” he said.

In the letter, Johnson also says the province has no intention of moving towards computer based grading for essays on diploma exams.

He confirms that a report was written for Alberta Education to look into the technology. But he says that students should have their work reviewed by teachers.