Remember reading about this earlier (how at some private schools, there was a large drop-off from grades during the year and then scores on Grade 12 Diploma exams) -- now this article has been published by the Herald:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...694/story.html
Quote:
In his first job after teacher’s college, Aubin said he left ISE after one year because he felt undermined by being forced to give alternate assignments to students who never handed in the required course work.
“The final decision on anything was at the top of the food chain with Mr. Fevry,” he said. “I think it was all about money and making sure there were bums in seats and that everyone graduated.”
The revelations — which come as tens of thousand of Grade 12 students across Alberta complete their school year, having written exams worth 50 per cent of their final mark — raise questions about the province’s oversight of a school that received an estimated $1 million in taxpayer funding this year.
The allegations of grade inflation help explain the chronic and widespread discrepancy between school-assigned grades and diploma exam results for ISE students which was more than four times the provincial average last year, at 33.7 percentage points.
A Herald analysis of results from six Grade 12 courses showed nearly three-quarters of the students managed to pass on the strength of school-assigned grades, but only about one in 10 managed to get a passing grade on the standardized tests.
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Doesn't look very good for the "International School of Excellence" (seriously, is that not the first red flag right there?):
Quote:
One of the few occasions in recent years when the school’s students have performed well was during the 2010 exam for the Pure Mathematics 30 course. All 10 passed the test and on average their marks were only 2.5 percentage points lower than their school-assigned grade.
When Alberta Education staff looked closely at the school’s exam results, they also found a striking similarity in the answers students were giving to specific questions.
“That raises a red flag,” said Michele Samuel, the department’s director of exam administration. “It led me to believe that kids in the class were finding ways to cheat.”
When department staff arrived at ISE unannounced several days before the math exam last year, they discovered the test materials had been removed from their protective shrink wrap, a contravention of strict rules aimed at ensuring school staff don’t give students access to exams in advance.
When they returned to watch the test being administered, they found more irregularities. Students had cellphones and bags near their desks and were carrying calculators that had not been cleared of data and math formulas.
The issues were corrected. After the tests were written and scored this time, only one of the 11 students had managed to pass the exam. The discrepancy between the school and exam grades was 32.4 percentage points, exceptionally high when compared with most other Alberta schools but in keeping with the past performance of ISE students.
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On a related note, this kind of stuff is really starting to piss me off. What the heck is wrong with society these days. Another ponzi scheme was in the news last week. That Art Gallery CEO that allegedly stole a bunch of money for funding the gallery and spent in on herself. Now this. Really GMG. /rant
Calgary Private School allegedly inflates grades; using funds for home, vehicles
