Public exams are soon to be a thing of the past in N.L. For some, it's cause for excitement
Provincial government plans to implement a new assessment model for the 2025-26 school year
The Newfoundland and Labrador government announced it has officially eliminated public exams from the provincial school system, and some say it's cause for optimism.
Krista Lynn Howell, the province's education minister, told CBC News that students in the province haven't taken public exams for years, as the province cancelled the final assessments after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
This school year was an "opportune time," she said, to officially remove the exams — which were typically worth nearly half of a Grade 12 student's final mark in certain courses — as the government looks to transform the province's education system.
"As we work with our post-secondary institutions, we often hear that students aren't prepared for real life," Howell told CBC News.
"We want to make sure that our students measure up in their numeracy and literacy and that they have a fair chance."
Although he understands why students and parents may be nervous about eliminating public exams, Andrew Coombs, an assistant professor in Memorial University's faculty of education, says the move doesn't mean students will be any less prepared for the future.
In fact, he says, they may be better prepared, as they will still be taking tests, quizzes and exams throughout the school year — now perhaps without as much undue pressure.
WATCH | Two views of the end of public exams in N.L.
"There are people who are very invested in public exams for a bunch of reasons," said Coombs, who researches classroom assessment and evaluation.
"All the things that they highly value in publics, I would argue we are still getting now, but in a way that allows students to succeed in a less anxious environment that reduces the stress. Like, what's wrong with that?"
A positive move, says expert
The Education Department says it's launching a consultation process this fall with parents, educators and students to discuss alternative assessment options. Howell says the government anticipates a new evaluation model will be implemented for the 2025-26 school year.
In the meantime, Grade 12 students will be evaluated using different tools, such as "individual and group projects, unit tests and year-end/semester-end tests that focus on student achievement and engagement," the department said in a statement to CBC News.
Howell says there are two modes of evaluation the government is currently looking into. The first is the introduction of a numeracy and literacy assessments for students in grades 10, 11 and 12 that aimsto measure a "student's skills in realistic situations," reads a government press release.
The second is modular course evaluations, which would take place three times throughout the school year in select 3000, or upper-level, courses, including English, math and science.
"What we're hoping to accomplish here is multiple opportunities for assessment with time frames for feedback in between the assessments," said Howell.
Although it's unclear what the modular course evaluations will look like, Coombs says doing three evaluations throughout the year instead of one heavily weighted final exam will allow teachers to better evaluate their students' development and will allow students to actively recognize where they can grow and improve.
Coombs also says eliminating public exams doesn't necessarily mean schools can no longer track standardized evaluation data.
"If anything, we'll have more rich data and more valid data because the students who took public exams before and stumbled, they were sick that day, they didn't have breakfast, they went and they did their publics and they just didn't do well in that subject for reasons other than their knowledge and ability," said Coombs.
"If anything, students are going to graduate with more experience taking tests. They could have multiple chances to take these tests. So they're going to walk in university, perhaps even more comfortable."
Prepared for the future?
When Letta Alloway, a Grade 11 student at Holy Heart of Mary High School, heard public exams were soon to be a thing of the past, she says she was relieved.
"I crack under pressure and I'm not good at tests. So not having to do the big exams makes me feel a lot better," said Alloway.
But, she says, the current education system doesn't prepare high school students adequately for the future. Although public exams don't show everything a student is capable of, she fears she'll fall behind without having ever completed a public exam.
"It's kind of like a catch-22 because I want to be prepared, but I also don't want the stress of the huge 40 per cent."
It's important to keep in mind that not everybody chooses to go to university or to pursue programs that require science and math courses, says Coombs, so removing public exams can broaden the horizon of what "success" looks like.
At this point, he says it's crucial to have in-depth consultations with teachers, parents and students before any new assessment models are implemented.
"If we can all have a shared vision of why our students are in school, what we're trying to accomplish, we're going to end up better preparing them for the world they walk into when they leave Grade 12," said Coombs.
"And surely that's the point of education. That's surely why we're all here."
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With files from On The Go