Manitoba abruptly postpones provincewide Grade 12 exam due to issues with materials in test

A provincial exam that was scheduled months ago was abruptly postponed on Friday, the last school day before it was set to be written by Grade 12 students across Manitoba.

In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for the province said the Grade 12 English language arts standards test was "suspended due to an issue regarding necessary permissions to use materials within the test."

The provincial statement said information on "a rescheduled delivery date" will be released next week. No other details were provided.

The test covered the second semester of the school year and was supposed to have been written over four consecutive days, starting on Monday. The provincial tests for the first semester were written Jan. 9-12.

Friday's announcement marks the latest twist in the on-again, off-again provincial assessment program.

In March, the NDP governmentsaid it planned to scrap provincial Grade 12 examsin English language arts and mathematics, along with the Grade 10 provincial evaluation, starting in the 2024-25 school year, in order to review and redevelop the program.

But EducationMinister Nello Altomare soon reversed course, reinstating the standardized tests after hearing concerns that students might not feel properly prepared for post-secondary education.