Calgary students do well in exams

By Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald

Calgary youth continue to score top marks on provincial exams, but the tests themselves are earning mixed reviews as some call for an overhaul of how Alberta evaluates its students.
The Calgary Board of Education saw more of its students earn honours than the provincial average in every diploma exam subject tested in 2008.

Local public schools particularly excelled in Chemistry 30, where 38.9 per cent of CBE students received a score of 80 per cent or higher compared to 27.2 of all Alberta students. The CBE also exceeded provincial averages for the number of students passing high school exams in eight of 11 subjects.

"This year, we are very pleased. We had a couple areas of concern the last couple of years, especially in mathematics," said CBE board chairwoman Pat Cochrane. "Our students are doing better, which means our system has figured out how to focus on what our students need to support them in their learning."

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