Grade 12 provincial final exams no longer happening in Manitoba
From a pandemic pause to a permanent practice, Grade 12 students in Manitoba are no longer having to take final exams.
The province confirmed to CTV News Winnipeg that final exams for English, French and math classes have all stopped and haven’t been taken since January 2020.
The St. James-Assiniboia School Division said in a statement that the final week when exams were to usually take place, has now been replaced with an extra week of learning and final projects are to be scheduled for that week. The division said exams accounted for 25 to 30 per cent of a student’s final grade.
The Winnipeg School Division said the final week will now be used for final assessments and how the assessment is done is determined by each school.
Matt Henderson, the assistant superintendent with the Seven Oaks School Division said the switch to project-based learning prepares students for different kinds of careers.
“We want to make sure that learners are academically prepared in all sorts of ways. That there is sense of mastery, that they’ve mastered content and skills. There’s a sense of identity, that they have been inducted into the adult world through passionate educators so they see themselves as a mathematician, so they see themselves as a chef, they see themselves as a high performance athlete” he said. “We also want to ensure that learners are able to produce something that wasn’t there before, we call that creativity.”
Henderson feels exams are in place to check if the school system is actually working and are not actually preparing kids for the future.
“We know it’s the feedback and not a number or a grade or a stamp on a paper that’s actually going to push learning forward.”
Horace Luong, the associate dean of student experience at the University of Manitoba said mental health struggles are also common themes during exams as students deal with testing anxiety.
Even though Grade 12 exams are ending, the province said it is working with educators to create a new Grade 10 evaluation process.
“More information will be available once communication flows to education stakeholders, which is planned shortly,” a spokesperson for the province said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.