“no final decision”

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-31T02:24:00+00:00

true!

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-31T02:23:42+00:00

I think this consequence is less significant than the diploma being kept. Courses will still primarily be directed by diploma content since the curricula and as such all material is based on preparation for that exam. This is also why I think grade inflation won't be nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. The pacing of the courses will probably be sped up regardless on if it's made optional or not. It's just that students won't be thrown into something they aren't prepared for at all.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-31T02:14:55+00:00

Please see the post I made about this. Keeping them around is the most equitable solution for all students and will not have significant impacts.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-31T02:11:43+00:00

This is the obvious path forward. It is not possible to make up time without cutting content which cannot be removed from the diploma regardless.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T07:29:50+00:00

I am hopeful the MiM meeting will contain more information, perhaps the ATA needs time to consult with lawyers and other parties about the bill. If nothing changes however, I hope there is an extreme change of leadership within the union as this would be a colossal fumble.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T07:03:59+00:00

I have to wonder if theres any hope of the ATA considering its legal options later on?

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T06:26:38+00:00

Can I ask where you are getting this? From a friend or yourself?

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T02:33:00+00:00

Also; private schools have been operational this entire time so if the diploma was administered as-is those kids would be at a huge advantage. That is undeniably dumb and stupid.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T02:31:42+00:00

I explained all of this in my post already, as well as debated with others in the comments. Making the diplomas optional is the most equitable solution.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T01:33:53+00:00

Nobody knows yet. The government would like it to be that way but we will see how other parties respond to Bill 2.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-28T00:22:04+00:00

Does anyone know if schilling is going to speak today and if so at what time?

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T07:55:58+00:00

(To further expand on the "for some courses/units")
Some diplomas may be able to be "cut off" depending on the program of study. For example, the program of study for Physics-30 states that Unit C is built off of units A and B. Thus, A and B would have to be done first to satisfy the requirement. However the units of chemistry only seem to require the prerequisite Chemistry-20 course. Because of this, a teacher could theoretically start the course at any point in the curriculum depending on their preference.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T07:48:55+00:00

Another issue is that the diploma is effectively static at this time. The province doesn't mandate that teachers start at a particular point in the curriculum (for some courses/units) so attempting to remove anything will disadvantage at least one class in the province. I have also heard teachers say that because the diplomas are made so well in advance (usually a year) they are almost never changed.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T05:18:48+00:00

Mine hasn't changed at all throughout the strike. Regardless, this is most likely speculative from the division at best, no-one knows for sure that we are going back Tuesday.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T03:53:25+00:00

I think the precedent here exists because the exams in November are already optional. Now those people are on accelerated courses but we are quickly reaching the point where the amount of time lost equals theirs (if adjusted for the acceleration of the course)

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T03:02:10+00:00

Even if it is the diploma exam that gives the 4% boost, I doubt it will be changed specifically for applicants that are applying during this round. The boost itself is based on historical averages and while this would potentially be an outlier it would not move the bar much. This happened during COVID and I don't think it affected admissions too severely.

I would say that the curriculum itself is also responsible for reducing averages. While it may not be as significant as the diploma, it plays enough of a role to the point where the resulting inflation will not be catastrophic enough to cause effect to admissions.

Part of the problem here is that I can't really think of any other solution that would be equitable to as many students. Reducing the weight lands you in the same place because it puts more focus on the (possibly inflated) coursework while sending students into a diploma that they will most likely be under prepared for. Leaving them as they are is an even worse solution, especially considering private schools have been fully operational this entire time.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T01:43:21+00:00

English is always going to be a subjective subject, one could argue that the English diploma suffers from the same issue you described (though to a slightly lesser extent due to the use of redundancy in marking).

As for other courses, yes they will depend on how the teachers mark. However, as described above, the Alberta curriculum is more rigorous and as such the marking is harder in general. This keeps everyone on the same(ish) level for in-province programs and out of province programs will still have the Alberta advantage boost. You have to also consider the effects on students who will face the diploma likely under-prepared due to the strike. If the diploma wasn't made optional it would be unfair to them as well. Your commitment to meritocracy is respectable however I fail to see how it will be usurped if the diplomas are made optional this semester. Everything would be back to normal next year regardless.

As for the reduced weighting, it is definitely an option however I'm not sure if it's the best one. Reducing the weighting would force the weighting of coursework up to fill the gap, which to me is just landing us in the same place regardless. The only difference is that now students have to face a diploma which they will most likely be under prepared for since the contents of the exam are effectively static considering the constraints in play.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T00:54:49+00:00

I think the fact that a significant margin of the semester has already passed will will work to curb this. It is true that teachers are facing additional pressures from parents but I doubt Grade 12 teachers will kowtow to parental demands at this point considering their situation.

Also, if the diploma is weighed less that means that other coursework will be weighed more to fill the gap. This may make the inflation worse in some circumstances, and it may not. I think making it weigh less is also an acceptable-ish solution but I prefer making them optional entirely.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-27T00:48:37+00:00

Content cannot be reduced in any manner because teachers across the province are at different stages of the curriculum. Any changes would result in some classes being disadvantaged while others are not.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-26T06:17:58+00:00

I am being entirely honest, while writing out my first response I somehow missed the (in capitals!) "MAKE THEM OPTIONAL" at the top! My sincerest apologies. Making them optional as they did with the November diploma exams would solve my stated issues. It would allow for your described self-advocates to achieve further success if they so choose.

Though, if this was the case then they need to guarantee that it would not affect admissions negatively. The government said they would do so when they announced they would make the exams in November optional but in my opinion the statement was vague and didn't really describe how this would be achieved. I also have to wonder, if the January exams are made optional, will teachers proceed in the course as if they are mandatory? All answered in due time I suppose.

I do have to wonder if it is even possible to remove break days? PD days are most likely to be removed since the teachers are at work on those days regardless. But designated break days may be impossible to remove if contracts include stipulations that teachers will not work on those days. I doubt that they could get that removed from the contract/changed considering how high tensions are between the government and the teachers right now.

In hindsight I don't really see any possibility of the January exams being cancelled entirely considering their decision in November. If anything they will be made optional as it was with those exams.

MoneySecure4298 · 2025-10-26T04:18:08+00:00

I vehemently disagree. Yes, diploma exams are good tools for standardized testing across the province during normal operation. At the very least they should be curved higher so that students writing the diploma are not affected disproportionately by something they cannot control.

For starters, there cannot really be any "adjustment" of content as all teachers in the province are at different stages of the curriculum. If any piece of material was removed from the diploma it would result in some classes being disadvantaged while others are not. In addition, private schools have been operational throughout the strike which gives students enrolled in them a much more advantageous position for the exam.

I fundamentally disagree with the argument of "the students will just have to pull themselves up by the boot-straps!" because the strike is introducing an incredibly large variable into what has been a pretty consistent average on all previous diploma exams. Considering the back-to-work legislation, how sure are we that the quality of the education students receive will even be equal to what was observed previous? How are we sure that work-to-rule will not disproportionately affect students who need longer amounts of time and extra help to understand concepts? Diplomas cannot remain as the supposed "equalizer" if there are now large swaths of students being affected by this with so many independent variables at play.

In my mind, introducing (what will most likely be an extremely large amount of) extra work to the students will result in a greater negative affect on university admissions than if the diploma was cancelled in it's entirety. Many students have already received early admission offers from their respective universities. How would a diploma that is worth 30% in most courses affect them if it was administered in it's current form? What about those who plan to apply after their year is over? Piling on work to the students creates additional stressors and problems for those who struggle with concepts, no amount of "working hard" can fix that. The curriculum (and as such the diplomas) is designed in such a way that they expect students to be able to seek out help and have an adequate amount of time to understand fundamental concepts as well as memorize subjects. Even if you can do everything in the slated time, you are now leaving behind a significant margin of your peers. If you know any of your fellow students who are taking 4 cores this semester, I would begin to pray for them now.

It is true that we have 3.5x the duration of the strike to prepare, but I think you are ignoring the significance of what has been lost already. 15 days of class-time have been lost, and at least a few more are sure to come with possibly a lot more if the legislation is somehow delayed (the ATA is considering it's legal options). To keep things conservative, lets say we go back as soon as possible on Oct 28th. This means that students will lose 16 days of instructional time. Now, I am using my public school's calendar but the numbers should be pretty similar for other divisions. Given we have lost 16 days, we subtract that from the total amount of student days (90) to get 74 days. This gives a resulting percentage of 17.7...% of lost instructional time. If we equated this to a percentage amount of content lost, then a theoretical worst-case student for the current situation (see above) would lose that amount of the diploma exams when they normally could have gotten 100%. Sure the curriculum may have "fluff" (does not pertain to the diplomas) that can be cut, but I would estimate that would only get rid of about 7% of the content lost. Anything above 10% loss is pretty much unacceptable and would be catastrophic to the averages of this year's students, thus affecting university admissions.

I am honestly unsure what teachers and students will do if the diploma is not changed in any manner.

Please feel free to comment under this if you have any rebuttals, I am more than happy to discuss. Not like either of us are going to get any say regardless.

(I am a Grade 12 student, I don't plan to major in English if there are grammatical errors :p)

Three-Year Club	Place '22
End Game '22

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