Sask. set to discontinue Grade 12 provincial exams

An empty classroom in Regina is seen in this file photo. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)

The province says it’s winding down the Grade 12 provincial examination program at the end of August as the education ministry redevelops its student assessment program.

According to the Ministry of Education, Saskatchewan remains the only province where some students are required to write a provincial exam for certain Grade 12 subjects while others are not.

In the 2023-24 school year, only 25 per cent of students needed to complete a provincial exam, the province said.

The ministry says it intends to develop a more equitable system for Grade 12 students.

“The discontinuation of provincial exams, starting in September 2025, aligns with feedback that I have received directly from school board trustees, teachers and families all across this province,” Education Minister Everett Hindley said in a news release Friday.

“We are pleased that work continues on developing a Saskatchewan student assessment program that will help our schools and government in improving student success.”

The Saskatchewan School Boards Association says it welcomes the announcement.

“Our membership passed resolutions in 2011 and again in 2021 that called for the elimination of provincial examinations for Grade 12 students. This is an important shift toward more meaningful assessment practices that take the needs of individual students into account while maintaining curricular integrity,” president Shawn Davidson said.

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The Ministry of Education says it’s collaborating with education partners on the new assessment program, first announced last November.

The ministry says the program will clarify what it means to be at grade level, and give parents, students and teachers an assessment of performance in math for Grades 5 and 9, and English language arts in Grades 4, 7 and 10.