In a report released on Thursday, Ombudsperson Jay Chalke raised a number of concerns over how the Ministry handled the tabulation and then the release of exam results; as well as towards how their communication process was flawed and misled those who were impacted by the issue.
Towards resolving the situation Mr. Chalke has called for an apology and compensation for any students who were financially harmed by the inaccuracies that were delivered.
“Our findings reveal a number of shortcomings in a system that young people were relying on at one of the key points of their lives. A rushed and inadequate quality assurance process led to the errors. What followed was poor communication with students, families and post-secondary institutions at a time when clarity was needed.” -- BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke as part of his review over incorrect exam results in 2019
The issues over the results of the 2019 exam process were revealed in July of that year, with the Ministry of Education at the time providing for a period of confusion and lack of information, leaving students and their parents frustrated and concerned for their future education plans.
The exam results are an integral part of any graduates application process for post secondary education and in the case of the inaccuracies found in the 2019 process, the ombudsperson's office estimates that up 112,187 transcripts could potentially have had incorrect results.
When it comes to recommendations, Mr. Chalke's report lists a range of measures that the province needs to implement to ensure that future test results can be received with confidence by students and post secondary institutions.
Upon receipt of the report earlier this month, the Ministry of Education accepted the six recommendations, noting that many of them related to quality assurance and communication had already been implemented.
As for the recommendations towards potential compensation for those impacted, the Ministry will work towards completing an apology and compensation program by the end of this year.
The Ministry accepts this recommendation and it will be implemented by December 31, 2020. The Ministry’s internal resources are currently fully committed to addressing the issues related to COVID-19 and supporting school districts and independent school authorities as they prepare to restart school after a lengthy disruption in the spring of 2020. Upon the safe restart of BC schools, we will shift our resources to addressing this recommendation on the timeline noted above. -- One of six responses by the Ministry of Education towards recommendations by the BC Ombudsperson
More background on how that will be taken on is anticipated to come from Ministry officials as the fall arrives and the restart of the schools is underway
The full report can be reviewed here.
For more information related to education in the Northwest see our archive page here.
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