Provincial exam snafu fixed and correct marks issued, ministry says
About 32,000 students were affected
The issue affecting the transcripts of around 32,000 Grade 12 B.C. students who wrote provincial exams on June 22 and 23 has now been resolved, according to a statement from Education Minister Rob Fleming issued Wednesday.
Fleming said the cause of the incorrect transcripts was due to human error in the manual transfer of data between systems. He said all marks have been checked for accuracy and grades will be sent directly to post-secondary institutions.
"I know this has caused anxiety for students and their families, and I want to assure them that this will not have an impact on admission to colleges and universities," Fleming said in the statement.
Fleming stated the ministry contacted all post-secondary institutions in Canada and NCAA institutions in the United States to make sure no student applications for the fall would be affected.
The ministry released a statement Tuesday confirming some Grade 12 students may have incorrect exam results on their final transcript caused by an 'anomaly' in the tabulation of the provincial exams.
B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke said he was concerned about the error and the impact it may have on students across the province.
"This is a very stressful time for students as they make future education plans. I urge the ministry to not only address the technical issue but to also identify and remedy any individual impacts," said Chalke in a statement issued Wednesday.
Seeing 40% discrepancy was 'terrifying'
South Delta Secondary student Katja Nell said she was shocked when she received her English 12 provincial exam mark on Monday. Her class grade was 99 per cent, but her exam mark showed she scored 59 per cent.
"Seeing a 40 per cent discrepancy was terrifying for me. I honestly can't comprehend what will happen if my mark doesn't change," said Nell.
Nell, who's been conditionally accepted into the Science One program at UBC, said when she reached out to the university on Monday, they said the chances of her acceptance being revoked were high because the discrepancy between her class mark and provincial exam mark was more than 20 per cent.
She said the lack of information from the ministry over the past few days has been frustrating.
"It's a time sensitive thing. If I need to figure out what to do now and that's my real grade, I need to start writing an appeal letter today," said Nell.
UBC's response
In a statement issued to Nell, UBC confirmed it's aware of the provincial exam error and is in contact with the ministry to make sure no students are negatively affected by the mishap. The university said once the grades have been verified, the correct results will be automatically sent by the ministry.
The deadline for many Canadian universities and colleges to receive transcripts is Aug. 1.
The ministry confirmed students will be able to access corrected final exam marks and grades via the Student Transcripts Service by late Wednesday.
With files from Tanya Fletcher