Student Services is giving a noon hour session on December 9 on “Managing Test/Exam Stress" in Room 323. If your student is experiencing stress, please encourage them to attend!
We are also mindful of the emotional impacts of final summative exams, especially given the pandemic context. We are implementing the following strategies to mitigate the pressures students may experience:
No “high stakes" assessments (any summative assessments will be weighted at 10% or be a “no jeopardy" exam).
Any final exams for Grade 10 and 11 students will be scheduled on January 17 and 18. The timetable is modified to provide extended blocks of 156 minutes. This ensures that all students have adequate time to show what they know.
Final exams provide students with one more opportunity to demonstrate their most recent understanding of outcomes assessed during the entirety of the course. This means teachers have professional discretion to replace earlier demonstrations with more recent demonstrations that show more depth of understanding.
Final exams are also an opportunity to synthesize and apply multiple outcomes. This evidence may inform teachers that a student has demonstrated an exemplary level of understanding of the course outcomes, rather than a proficient level. Typically, only students who are already demonstrating a high level of proficiency will move from “PR1 or PR2" to “EX1 or EX2."
Teachers may also look for evidence of understanding on a final exam to fill in gaps or missing evidence from previous assessments.
When determining a final grade, teachers examine the entire body of evidence and look for the most consistent and most recent demonstrations of understanding. Determining a final grade is so much more than tallying or averaging points!
We hope these strategies help significantly reduce student anxiety while providing students with opportunities to deepen their understanding of course outcomes and experience success!
