The Northwest Territories’ Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) has cancelled all diploma exams for the month of January.
In a statement on Jan. 5, the department said it had cancelled all diploma exams in January in response to the territory’s schools being closed for an additional week.
Without the exams, students’ class marks will count for 100 per cent of their final mark.
On Dec. 30, the GNWT announced schools across the territory would remain closed until Jan. 10, rather than re-opening on Jan. 4.
The Department of Education says it originally planned to hold the exams with accommodations.
“The decision to cancel the January 2022 session was made in recognition of the current state of the pandemic and to remove any undue burden for students and schools,” the statement reads. “This decision is also in line with Alberta Education’s approach.”
Alberta, which also delayed its return to in-person learning until Jan. 10, announced on Dec. 30 it was cancelling its own diploma exams.
The diploma exams are given to Grade 12 students in select subjects to evaluate individual and group achievement and ensure standards are met.
The department has yet to decide whether to hold diploma and Alberta Achievement exams scheduled for April or June. Department of Education spokesperson Briony Grabke says the department doesn’t yet know when it will make a decision on the exams later in the year. However, she says, “as we get more information, we’ll make an announcement.”