Yes, you read the title correctly. BC is changing the grading system for K-12 students in the 2023-2024 school year, but let’s set the record straight so you do not complain by the time you finish reading: this article will not contain dramatic amendments that abolish the testing system. Ironically enough, despite how much human civilization has advanced, your life will still “depend” on that Pre-Calc 12 test and no law has been passed to save you from it. However, you and I are in this academic swap together, so, unfortunately, we are all going down together. That being said, there is some good news somewhere in this article about semi-major changes that will be made to the conduction of assessments, so you might want to stick around to find out about that. Now that your standards (and hopes) have been lowered, you are ready to read about a few things that actually have changed for the better while hearing my faint complaining voice in the background.
Why make any changes?
According to the official website of the provincial government of British Columbia, there is a lack of unity in the grading system across the province. They almost want to re-establish the learning standards across BC to achieve more of a unified structure. In addition, they want the students’ learning to be reported through a consistent process, rather than showing a reflection of the final grade. This might look like having more than just a midterm and final report, and possibly having more in between (they are a bit vague about their reasoning). This is helpful later on for universities to look at because they see a more detailed process of your academic records which allows them to gain insight into why you may not have done very well in a course.
What are the changes?
Speaking of which, here is a summarized abstract of what they have actually changed:
1. Consistent communication
Take some of your AP classes as an example. Apart from your midterm and final grades, more progress reports will be given. There will also be emails that your teachers sent out to parents, giving them a heads up on how their child is doing. To be quite frank, it remains unclear how frequent these communications will be, but it is emphasized that there will be more parent teacher communication than now.
2. Exams: Emphasized focus on proficiency
The most likely reason why you clicked on this article: tests. This section of amendments sounds a lot like giving opportunities to students to demonstrate their full understanding. Now, this also means not punishing students for having bad days when doing tests or quizzes, but obviously, it is unclear to what extent this opportunity will be given. Nonetheless, there are a handful of teachers that allow you to have multiple opportunities at our school, so it is heartwarming to know that there will be a regulation t mandating the established learning standards to allow the students to show their proficiency. But no, mankind shall never be freed from the conformity of assessments–it can only tussle in the path of freedom from it.
3. Self-assessment
I can already hear you complaining, saying something along the lines of: “oh gosh here we go again”. Unfortunately, this is the paradoxical tactic that most teachers use to implement democracy, but they just end up giving the grade that they see fit (teachers are great though). However, maybe one can hope that this regulation allows the students to have their voice heard and have more comprehensive conversations with their teachers about their grades, even though it may seem one-sided.
As of now, the BC government, along with the education sector, rightsholders, parents, teachers and the general public are working towards polishing their final grade reporting system. As mentioned, their goal for its establishment is in the 2023/2024 school year. By then, a lot of you will have escaped (graduated), but some of you will have to undertake the risk of a new grading system which by the way, is for your own benefit! Hopefully this would take away some of that sentinel top tier student stress that everyone seems to have, as well as create opportunities for better academic performance.
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