Calgary students petition province to make diploma exams voluntary

Grade 12 summer students start diploma exams this week, but a group of concerned students and parents wants the province to make those mandatory exams voluntary.

An online petitionlaunched Friday garnered more than 2,300 sign-ups by Monday afternoon.

The students say uncertainty over the past few months has led to anxiety and other mental health concerns for students, which means some may not perform at their top academic potential, which could affect their chances of getting into post-secondary schools.

"You know they are expecting us to perform at our normal levels under abnormal circumstances," said Michelle Xu, who's entering Grade 12 in September, so isn't personally affected by this round of exams, but speaks on behalf of the group.

She says there are also concerns over students' physical health.

"I know a lot of my friends and a lot of other kids in the city, you know, there's a lot of generations living under one roof," she said.

"The exams are being taken at St. Francis High School and there were some cases of coronavirus discovered there just a few days ago."

This past spring, students scheduled to take Grade 12 diploma exams had the option of accepting their course mark as their final grade or writing the test to try and bring up their marks.

Xu wants the province to give students that option again.

The province is set to lay more details on its September return-to-school plan on Tuesday.