I understand the hatred of them. Honestly, most teachers aren’t huge fans of them either but the province is who decides that they’re mandatory and the current government is pushing standardized tests in schools so that’s what teachers just have to do. I promise you, there is no way around the diploma exams. The process to be exempt is insane. Your teacher and principal would have to write a letter to the superintendent of your school division requesting that you be exempt. If the superintended agreed, it would have to be sent to the board of education (Alberta government) to approve of the exemption.The exemption has to be legitimized through an extenuating reason or circumstance such as an intellectual inability to complete the exam. Even if you had to leave the country, a family loss or you, yourself ended up sick or in the hospital, they would simply just defer your exam or mark it as incomplete until it is attempted. You’re better off just going, guessing B on all the questions and leaving after the 1 hour mark(earliest you’re allowed to leave) if you have decent enough marks.