A bad surprise in the newsletter

A fourth secondary student who got a school mark of 72% in maths at the end of the year, this result dropped to 43% after failing the ministerial test, a victim of statistical treatment questioned by experts.

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This is not an isolated case as the Ministry of Education has stated that it is aware of the “special circumstances” and is currently proceeding with “further analysis of the situation”.

Amelie Berube, 16, struggled all year hoping to pass her secondary four maths. For this young girl with attention deficit disorder, math is her pet, says her mother Karin Boulay.

After several periods of orthopedagogy, remedial work and “countless crying and anxiety attacks”, the young woman managed to secure a 72% mark in June. All that was left for him was to pass the ministerial exam to get his final mark, which he almost did.

But the test didn’t go as she expected, worrying. Amelie is still hopeful of getting a final pass mark because this year’s ministerial exams count for 20% of the final mark, unlike 50% before the pandemic.

In early July, the verdict will come. Amelie scored 46% in the ministerial exam, but the Ministry of Education lowered her school mark, which dropped from 72% to … 43%. She is feeling.

It was a shock to Amelie and her mother. Total surprise. “It threw me to the ground,” said M^me Boule. She was a teenager, “rolled up in a ball”, and then wanted to give everything up, she adds.

“Moderate” ratings

After several steps, Mr.^me Boulay eventually understood that his daughter’s school mark had been lowered under the Ministry of Education’s statistical treatment of all students in force since 1974. “Moderation” aims to “evaluate all students equally”. .

For each group, the students’ marks were compared with the marks obtained in the ministerial examination. In the same group, if several students get test results that are much lower than the mark given by their teacher, the mark is revised downwards. The reverse is also true.

It’s a process some advocate to avoid “candy marks” or overly harsh evaluations, to ensure that schools’ results are consistent from one institution to another.

But others oppose doing it this way, which, in their view, gives too much weight to the ministerial examination in the student’s final result (see other text below).

For his part, the director of the Institut d’Enseignement de Septem-Illes, the private secondary school Amelie attends, toothily defends the work of his “super qualified” math teacher with ten years’ experience. ‘Experience.

For Matthew Brian, it’s a questionable case. This year, he said, students were not well prepared for the ministerial exams, which accounted for only 20% of the final grade.

At this secondary school, the failure rate in ministerial examinations in all subjects was three to five times higher than normal, Mr Brian said.

It is difficult to understand why the ministry did not change the exam moderation process this year. “I find it very difficult for a student who has worked for ten months to drop marks because of an exam worth 20%,” he said.

For Amelie’s mother, this statist treatment is also hard to swallow because it penalizes students who perform poorly under pressure, she says “by doing this, the ministry produces dropouts”, M.^me Boulay wrote to Minister Jean-Francois Roberge to condemn the situation.

At the ministry, we want to assess the situation to determine whether we can “provide solutions to cases that present high disparities.”

A request for a review of grades is always possible, his spokeswoman Esther Chouinard added.

Non-unanimous statistical treatment

The statistical treatment conducted by the Ministry of Education during the ministerial examinations was not unanimous. Experts oppose it, but stakeholders in the school network think it is fully justified.

Michelin-Johann Durand, a professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Montreal, believes that the regulation of marks “discredits the professional judgment of teachers” by giving more weight to the ministerial examination in students’ final marks.

“The ministry imposes its directives without nuance, which I resent,” she said.

Like many other speakers, Mr.^me Durand believes it’s time for the department to review its evaluation process.

Mélanie Tremblay, a professor at the University of Quebec in Rimouski, also questioned the importance and form of the ministerial exams, where everything is played out in three short hours for thousands of students.

Continuing the moderation policy would also distort the relief the government wanted to give in the context of the pandemic, adds Smt.^me tremble

However, the story is different among the group of high school mathematics leaders. Its president, Guy Gervais, favors this statistical treatment.

“It’s important to make sure that a high school diploma in Quebec has the same value everywhere,” he said.

At the Federation of Private Educational Institutions, Christian LeBlanc, director of education services, also defended the practice, which is “totally justified” even in the current context, he said.

“The ministry wants students to be assessed fairly. In general, a teacher who respects the program and assessment framework shouldn’t have too many surprises,” he says.

However, this statistical treatment should be well known and explained well to the students and their parents, Mr. LeBlanc adds.