Canadian primary and secondary standardized examinations are examinations developed in Canada and taken by primary and secondary students in some provinces and territories in Canada.
The majority of the exams listed are developed provincially and are unique to each respective province and their related adjacent territories. This is as a result of education in Canada being in the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories. Such exams can be important factors in the determination of final grades and therefore also in scholarship decisions, college, and university admissions. However, policies of post-secondary institutions in Canada vary concerning whether the blended exam and class grade are used or simply the class grade are used for admission.[1]
A unique situation of primary and secondary examinations is that of Canada's territories. The territories mostly elect to adopt the curriculum of their most closely related adjacent provinces. This includes adopting the related provinces examination policy. Yukon primarily follows the British Columbia curriculum.[2] Meanwhile, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut primarily follow the Alberta curriculum.[3][4] Therefore, exams in these territories are developed and adjudicated by the aforementioned adjacent province but are administered by the territorial educational ministry. The reason for the territories adopting the curriculum of provinces is because the provinces have both greater means to create the curriculum and populations to ensure the curriculums acceptance by tertiary institutions. The reason for the territories adopting the curriculum of those specific provinces is as a result of the historical geography of Canada. Yukon was formed prior to the existence of any current western Canadian province except British Columbia. Meanwhile, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and a handful of other provinces were created from the now nonexistent North-Western Territories which was.
List of examinations
For the purposes of the list, the 'course grade' is defined as the grade assigned by the teacher during classroom instruction. 'Final grade' or 'blended grade' are defined as the combined examination and course grade.
Some universities choose to raise Albertan students marks because of their provincially required exams. For example, the University of British Columbia automatically raises Albertan students' averages by 2%.[6]
Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT) — Taken in grades 6 and 9. Exam mark is not included in final reported grade as class grades are not reported to the province.[7]
Alberta Diploma Examinations (Diploma) — Taken in some 30 level (grade 12) courses, including:
Graduation assessments — graduation literacy assessment (GLA) taken in grade 10 and 12. Graduation numeracy assessment (GNA) taken in grade 10. GLA and GNA are both marked on a scale of 4 (1 = Emerging, 2 = Developing, 3 = Proficient, 4 = Extending). There is no minimum score required to graduate (completion only).[9]
Grade 7, including the subjects reading, writing, and mathematics.[10]
Grade 8, including the subjects reading, writing, and mathematics.[10]
Grade 12 Provincial Tests — taken in some grade 12 level courses. Exam mark is worth 30% of final course grade except for Essential Mathematics test which is worth 20%.[11]
Final exam mark is worth 30%. Every course in an Ontario secondary school has a final evaluation worth 30%. These final evaluations are organised by the individual departments within a school, and thus they are not standardized across the province. Also, the final evaluation is not only a written examination, but it is split between a culminating activity (i.e., a final project) and written exam. This arrangement provides students more opportunity to demonstrate their learning, especially if any student suffers from test-taking anxiety that one high-stakes examination could cause. For example, an English department in a high school could develop a media literacy presentation for the grade 9 culminating activity worth 10% of the students' final grade. The other 20% of the students' grade will be demonstrated with a written examination responding and applying a literary analysis to a sight-passage. The ultimate goal is for students to demonstrate what they have learned from the curriculum and apply those skills with a final evaluation.
Primary Literacy Assessments (PLA) — taken in grade 3.[17]
Primary Mathematics Assessments (PMA) — taken in grade 3.[17]
French Immersion Elementary Mathematics Assessments (French Immersion EMA) — taken in grade 5.[17]
Elementary Literacy Assessments (ELA) — taken in grade 6.[17]
Elementary Mathematics Assessments (EMA) — taken in grade 6.[17]
Intermediate Mathematics Assessments (IMA) — taken in grade 9. Exam mark is worth 10% of final course grade.[17]
Secondary Mathematics Assessments (SMA) — taken in grade 11. Exam mark is worth 25% for Math 521A, Math 521B and Math 521M. Worth 20% for Math 512K.[17]
Ministerial Examinations — taken in grade 10 and 11 level subjects. Exam mark is worth 50% of the final grade. However, the final grade cannot be lower than the ministerial exam mark. For instance, if a student earns a 70% in the course, but an 80% on the exam, their final grade will be an 80%.[18][19]
Departmental Examinations — taken only by students instructed by non-accredited teachers, for home-based education students, and for adults wishing to earn Level 30 credits. Exam mark is worth 40% of final grade.[20]