Patchy approach to final exams, mark freezing amid Omicron sparks worries of grade inflation

As a student trustee for his Toronto-area school board, Bruce Yu hears loud and clear from his peers how tough school continues to be amid the pandemic.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has caused further disruptions to their in-class learning following winter break. But unlike earlier in the pandemic, Canadian school officials haven't universally moved to freeze student grades or do away with final exams — even amid high numbers of student and school staff absences for illness or isolation. 

That inconsistency is causing many to worry about an unfair playing field developing, especially among those high schoolers vying for post-secondary. 

"Students are concerned that this policy being implemented at certain school boards, and not other school boards, is going to potentially lead to disadvantages when it comes to post-secondary admissions, scholarships, grants and students awards," said Yu. 

The Grade 11 student attends Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School in Aurora, Ont., and serves as trustee for the York Region District School Board (YRDSB). 

More flexibility with assessment, as educators were directed to implement earlier in the pandemic, helps students weather the ongoing disruptions of pandemic learning, said Yu.

Last month, he supported a letter the YRDSB sent to Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, calling for the province to provide "consistent assessment and evaluation guidance" for all boards.

"We want to ensure that all schools and all students have a fair playing field and level playing field," he said.

Yu's board is a neighbour to the Toronto District School Board, which, just a few weeks back, froze secondary school marks to the last day before winter break. Any subsequent tasks, activities or evaluations were factored in only if they improved a student's grade.

TDSB director of education Colleen Russell-Rawlins explained that families were concerned about more missed class time and increased absences due to the Omicron variant, as well as students once again forced to rapidly shift to remote learning in January, so close to the end of the high school semester. 

P.E.I. Education Minister Natalie Jameson had similarly cancelled winter exams for all Islander high schoolers in mid-January. At the time, she said high stakes education testing would be inappropriate and unfair to students.

Not all provinces, however, have issued as clear a directive to school officials.

The Regina Catholic School Division (RCSD), for instance, made exams optional for its secondary students, but at the same time, other Saskatchewan divisions moved ahead with them. 

According to RCSD director of education and CEO Sean Chase, the decision came after consultation with school communities, school leaders and senior administrators — and after noting some post-secondary schools had already cancelled winter exams due to rising Omicron cases.