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This isn't the first time Public Exams were cancelled in NL. The first time was in June 1994. There had been a teachers strike for a month and there was concern about running the exams after the disruption. They were cancelled. https://www.assembly.nl.ca/houseBusiness/Hansard/ga42session2/94-06-06.htm
Public exams returned for June 1995, and then Dept. of Ed. decided to cancel them permanently, I assume because of the cost and the belief that the impact on the education system would be negligible. This lasted until June 2001. There were SIX years without Public Exams (1994, 1996-2000 inclusive).
I was teaching throughout that period and at our school we tried to maintain academic integrity, but every school in the province did what they wanted. There was no consistency in what material was covered, the depth of treatment, what the marks actually meant. The pressure for mark inflation and promotion-passing increased and it was difficult for teachers and administrators to resist it.
This is exactly where we are now.
The Dept. of Ed. decided in 2000-2001 to reinstate the exams. I can't find any written rationale given, but everyone directly involved in education at that time knew what had happened and why this was necessary.
The Dept. of Ed. annual report of 2002-2003 had this to say:
"High-school graduates of June 2002 who entered Memorial University in the fall performed at higher levels than their predecessors. Results from Memorial University’s Fall 2002 semester showed the best overall performance of first-year students recorded since 1995, when achievement level tracking first began. This result illustrates how changes made at the high school level over the past number of years, including reinstatement of public exams, are having a positive impact on student performance at the post-secondary level." https://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2005/edu/0515n04.htm
Obviously high school education exists for everyone and not just those who go on to post-secondary, but the MUN data gave us an actual way to measure how well prepared our students were and the academic integrity of our grades.
The public is now being told to "reimagine education." Fine, but they also need to be aware that we've been down this road before.
Daryl Pinksen
Sept. 20, 2023
The same people who hate on NL Public Exams also love to cite Finland's education model as one to emulate, unaware, I assume, that Finland has one of the most rigorous public exam systems in the world. Here is the Finnish Ministry of Education's rationale for their version of Publics, the National Matriculation Exams:
"At the end of general upper secondary education, students take a school-leaving examination known as the matriculation examination. The matriculation examination serves two purposes. It is a final certificate for students in general upper secondary education that is used TO ASSESS WHETHER THEY HAVE ACHIEVED THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS SPECIFIED IN THE CURRICULUM AND ATTAINED A LEVEL OF MATURITY CONSISTENT WITH THE OBJECTIVES (emphasis mine). Completing the matriculation examination also makes it possible to apply for studies in higher education institutions. Institutions of higher education use the results of the matriculation examinations for student admissions." https://okm.fi/en/finnish-matriculation-examination....
Finland's system is successful because of TWO pillars:
1. Progressive pedagogy that encourages innovation, creativity, student and teacher freedom, and high professionalism of educators.
2. An uncompromising maintenance of academic integrity enforced by a massive HIGH STAKES public exam system at the end of high school.
The people running the show at NLESD/Dept. of Ed. believe, and want you to believe, that the same success can be achieved only with pillar 1.
Daryl Pinksen
Oct. 10 2023
NL school board officials have always looked to the U.S. for ideological guidance. They mostly read books written by American Ed. PhDs, consume their articles, and invite them to speak at their conferences. Much like a Canadian family member who watches CNN 24/7, after a while they start to think that U.S. problems are our problems, and that U.S. solutions are our solutions. As a consequence, what happens in U.S. education campuses and jurisdictions makes its way to Ontario and then slowly creeps its way to our remote outpost.
In Oregon, they are scrapping the requirements for basic mastery of core competencies, claiming that they are "harmful," specifically to non-whites (but not Asians, I assume). No question that poor/disadvantaged kids are having a difficult time achieving the core competencies by the end of Grade 12, which is no surprise. This is a perennial problem, and it gets worse the higher the degree of inequality in that jurisdiction. (The US has very high levels of inequality compared to Canada.)
There are two ways that governments can respond to this:
1. Identify students at risk and put real money into helping them achieve the minimum level required. If an extra year of schooling is needed, then require it, even though this also costs the taxpayer an extra year of free schooling. These are big costs. But IF you believe that the goal of school is to adequately prepare students to lead successful adult lives, then it's better to spend that money up front than to have to spend it later when unprepared young adults struggle with the realities of living and working in an increasingly complex society.
2. Eliminate objective standards and push them out.
Oregon (and Newfoundland) have chosen option 2 and are trying to sell it to the public as "caring," "harm reduction," "equity," - words carefully and cynically chosen to shut down criticism, to paint opponents as "right wing" or "racist," and it works.
But, can it be a coincidence that the option being chosen across many jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada is the one that saves governments and taxpayers the most money?
Which of these two approaches is actually "harmful?"
Which approach actually cares about the long term success of disadvantaged students?
Which of these approaches will actually help achieve "equity?"
Daryl Pinksen Oct. 23 2023
Oregon Again Says Students Do Not Need to Prove Mastery
https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/10/oregon-again-says-students-dont-need-to-prove-mastery-of-reading-writing-or-math-to-graduate-citing-harm-to-students-of-color.html
ALBERTA Diploma Exams Sept. 28, 2023
"The Grade 12 Diploma Examinations Program has 3 main purposes:
to certify the level of individual student achievement in selected Grade 12 courses
to ensure that provincewide standards of achievement are maintained
to report individual and group results."
CBC NL "Public Exams are Soon to be a thing of the Past" Sept. 27 2023
"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."
ONTARIO Exams are Back Toronto Star Jan. 24, 2023
QUEBEC Ministry Exams CTV Aug. 30 2023
Quebec's education minister had a message for high school students Tuesday – he’s telling them to be well-prepared for their ministry exams this year, as they’ll once again account for half of their grades.
It’s a return to pre-pandemic weighting for the standardized exams. To make up for virus-related stresses and unpredictable school closures, ministry tests were made to only account for 20 per cent of students’ grades.
CBC "Inconsistency with high school exams a problem, say students and educators" Feb. 05, 2023
"Pryma believes that current inconsistency in grading and testing at the secondary level contributes to a trend of inflated marks and students unprepared for post-secondary education, whether their choice is university, college or trades programs. "They cross the country to go to a school and they're [expecting] to be prepared for the rigours of this," he said. "And certainly in science and in mathematics … in those areas those students need to be well prepared — and we're not preparing them well enough."
The Telegram: Minister Hagee decides to cancel Public exams Nov. 25, 2022
"In years where public exams were a given, some teachers would narrow what they teach in class to what appears on the public exam, since that is what is being measured. But over the past two academic years, as government mandates put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled public exams, the teachers Coombs has spoken with, particularly in science, say their classes have become more about exploration and discovery, rather than memorization."
NL Education Release Public Exams reintroduced in 2001
"High-school graduates of June 2002 who entered Memorial University in the fall performed at higher levels than their predecessors. Results from Memorial University’s Fall 2002 semester showed the best overall performance of first-year students recorded since 1995, when achievement level tracking first began. This result illustrates how changes made at the high school level over the past number of years, including reinstatement of public exams, are having a positive impact on student performance at the post-secondary level. The department continued its annual support of academic achievement for high school students through the provincial scholarship program. In September 2002 the department awarded 202 scholarships, with a total value of $247,000, to students pursuing post-secondary studies. A total of 26,089 senior high school students were evaluated on their year’s work in June. The students achieved an overall pass rate of 89 per cent in their courses." Department of Education Annual Report 2002-2003 July 15, 2005
House of Assembly Transcript Cancellation of Public Exams June 6 1994
"The ongoing teachers strike and the complications surrounding it has made it impossible to conduct successfully the public exams for the 1993-1994 school year. This decision was taken only after careful consideration and consultation with stakeholders throughout the education system. Numerous cases have been made to me as to why the exams could not be carried out. The following are some of the key concerns expressed:
Superintendents cannot guarantee the security of the exams.
There is no guarantee that striking pickets would permit students to enter the examination area.
Difficulty with securing supervisors for the examinations.
No guarantee that the exams would be marked.
Students are threatening to boycott examinations due to lack of preparation and review time.
Students have expressed concern over exam content which has not been covered since the beginning of the strike."
Washington Post: Finland's Matriculation Exam
"Exams are offered twice a year, in September and March-April. Student musts complete all required tests of the examination within three consecutive exam periods of up to six hours each. All tests, except listening and reading comprehension in second domestic and foreign languages, are pencil-and-paper tests, typically requiring extensive writing in open-ended tasks.
Teachers whose students are taking the exam in school first read the test papers and give their initial marks. Then the Board’s subject committee members give their final marks independently from what teachers have marked to each exam that then leads to a grade."
"There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. "
Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture
"At the end of general upper secondary education, students take a school-leaving examination known as the matriculation examination. The matriculation examination serves two purposes. It is a final certificate for students in general upper secondary education that is used to assess whether they have achieved the knowledge and skills specified in the curriculum and attained a level of maturity consistent with the objectives. Completing the matriculation examination also makes it possible to apply for studies in higher education institutions. Institutions of higher education use the results of the matriculation examinations for student admissions. In the matriculation examination, candidates sit a minimum of five tests, with a mother tongue and literature test being the compulsory test for all candidates."
"Candidates taking the matriculation examination must sit at least five tests in different subjects, including a test in the mother tongue and literature, and at least four tests in the following three subject groups depending on the candidate’s choice:
a test in mathematics,
a test in the second national language,
a foreign language test and
a test in humanities and science.
The examination must include at least one advanced syllabus test. Besides the five tests, candidates may also take other tests.
Candidates pass the matriculation examination when they have successfully completed the tests referred to in the law as well as the syllabus for general upper secondary education or some other legally regulated qualification or education.
During the course of the examination, candidates have the right to resit three times any tests that were a fail. There are no limitations to the number of times successfully completed tests can be retaken."
Wikipedia: Finland Matriculation Exam
Each examinee used to be required to participate in at least four tests in order to pass the exam, however, legislation changed effective from March 15, 2022 pass the minimum at 5 subjects. As of 2005, the only mandatory part of the test is that of äidinkieli/modersmål ("mother tongue"; Finnish for most students, Swedish, Northern Sámi, Inari Sámi, or Skolt Sámi for some), including a composition test....The student then has to choose four other subjects from:
Second domestic language: (Swedish for Finnish speakers or Finnish for Swedish speakers)
Foreign language: Languages are separated into A and B levels depending on the demanded skill. The language counted as part of the four obligatory subjects must be one of A-level. However, if a student takes advanced level mathematics as an obligatory subject, they may take B-level language exams. English, German and French are the most popular choices among students, but in addition, the students may take Russian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Inari Sámi, and Northern Sámi exams. The foreign language exams include listening and reading comprehension tests, a grammar test and an essay.
Mathematics: (ordinary or advanced level), including 15 assignments 10 of which must be completed.
Reaali (realämnen in Swedish): Here the examinees take exams in individual subjects and are only allowed to answer questions from a single subject per exam. There is no limitation in the number of individual exams taken, but as tests in multiple subjects are held at the same time, it is practically possible to attend two exams two times per year. The subjects taken by the examinee have to be chosen well in advance prior to the exam. Exams consist of questions which require answers in the form of a multiple-choice test, essay and/or mathematical treatment. Historically, prior to 2005, all subjects in this category were tested in a single exam, in which the examinee freely chose to answer up to 10 out of up to 60 questions available, constituting a common question pool divided among the subjects such that the amount of questions in each subject was determined by the breadth of its curriculum (initially, until 1932, the amount of answers was unlimited). The subjects in the reaali category are
Religion, Evangelical Lutheran
Religion, Orthodox Christian
Education on ethics and moral history
Philosophy
Psychology
History
Civics
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Geography
Health education
The exam takes place at schools according to minute regulations laid out by the national board. Each exam takes six hours. After the exam, the teachers grade the papers and send the graded papers to the national board which then re-grades every paper. The grading of the exam may be appealed against."
Finnish linguist, songwriter, feminist,
Works at City of Helsinki
M.A. in Spanish Philology & Portuguese Philology, University of Helsinki
Lives in Helsinki
"Why does Finland's school system only make you do one test?"
That is not the case.
The fact that we have very few standardized tests does not mean we wouldn’t have any tests at all.
During the first two grades there are not many of them, that’s true, but from the third grade on the number keeps increasing.
However, since official grading only starts at the end of the 6th grade, the only goal of testing is to help the teacher to evaluate what his/her students know, and what should be explained better.
And tests are not the only way to achieve that.
Ways of evaluation used by the teachers of my children include:
children filming each other with tablets explaining the task at hand and loading those videos on their web portfolios
children playing songs with their ukuleles, filming each other doing that, and uploading the videos on their web portfolios
children making a group project about a certain topic and giving an oral presentation of it
children planning a board game with questions about a certain topic and playing the game together
chilren taking photos of plants with their mobile phones and making a web portfolio where they upload the photos and write a description about each plant
self-evaluation
quizzes
tests
Yes, there are tests, even in primary school.
Even if children are not graded, it’s important for the teacher to follow closely what they have learned and what they haven’t.
Each child is given a paper twice a year where all the most important areas of development and learning are covered. Usually it includes a verbal evaluation with descriptions like “Mostly reaches the goal” (please note that perfection is not expected!) or “Needs some more practice.”
My children are on the 4th and 7th grade now, respectively. They don’t have tests every single week, but they do have tests relatively often. The maximum per week is two.
In upper secondary school, it’s common to have an “exam week” when the students have 5–6 tests about all that has been learned during that period.
There are standardized tests at the end of the 9th grade in secondary school.
At the end of upper secondary school we have the matriculation exam, which is national.
I think the biggest difference is that Finnish teachers are mostly free to plan their teaching independently, including the tests. They all have a Master’s diploma, and their education is of high quality. We trust that they know what they are doing.
Teachers are the ones who know their students best and can therefore weigh whether a test will encourage them to study more, or whether there are more meaningful ways of evaluating what they have learned.
Testing is not necessarily the best motivator for all kids. Often reducing stress makes children learn much better. And creative ways of learning often has more far-reaching results, too.
As long as children learn and the teacher can keep track of their learning, testing is optional.
But I think all Finnish teachers make their students take tests at least sometimes.
Native Finn
Vocational Teacher in Finland
I’d like to give a meaningful answer, but I’m afraid i can’t.
I don’t understand the connection made between the quality of the education system and standardized testing in the question. How are they connected?
As a Finn in Finland, I don’t know the objectives of standardized testing really. All I can say that we don’t seem to see them necessary or useful. If we did we’d use them.
What I’ve read, the standardized tests tend to lead to a system where the test success itself becomes a goal. The students learn how to succeed in the tests rather than learn thinking. That’s the critique I’ve read, but as I said, I don’t know that system, so I don’t want to perform opinions on it. I suppose that the criticism is performed against the multiple-choice tests.
We don’t have standardized tests, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have tests at all: we do have them. The tests must measure the results of learning defined in the curriculum of course. It’s just not standardized. Every teacher has the right to decide how s/he wants to measure his students and whether s/he wants to use testing at all. It’s a part of teachers autonomy and regarded as one feature in his/her professional skills to be able to plan and evaluate tests independently.
This varies on different levels of education though. I teach in a vocational school and our testing is going to the workplaces: we evaluate the students at work when possible or by the results of their work. That can’t be standardized but you must adapt the evaluation according to the reality at the workplace.
I’m not sure whether I answered what you wanted to know really.
Finnish architect
M.Sc. in Architecture and Urban Planning, Tampere University of Technology
Lives in Finland
Why do Finland schools have no exams?
This is a misunderstanding.
Finnish children take as many pop quizzes, tests, and exams as their teachers see fit.
There are no standardized tests during the nine years of basic schooling.
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