Education Ministry should rethink handling of leaked history exam, school boards say

English school boards in Quebec are banding together to try to persuadethe province to rethink its handling of a controversial Grade 10 history exam.

The Education Ministry cancelled the results of an essay question worth 24 per cent of the examafter it was leaked online.That means more weight will be given to the short answer and multiple choice components of the test, for both the English and French-languageversions.

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SuanneStein Day, thechair of the Lester B. Pearson School Board,said it's not clear yet ifcancellingthe question means more students will fail.

"What theEnglishschool boards have agreed to do is to do ananalysisof all the exams with and without thatquestioncounted," she told CBC Montreal'sDaybreak.

She hopesthe boards can come up with a plan that will be fairer for all students who tookthe exam.

Chaher Soliman said his son Justin, a student atJohn Rennie High in Pointe-Claire,is convinced he did well on the essay question and likelywould have passed if it were counted.

"When he came home after the exam last week,he seemed upbeat and happy because he did well on that long question," Soliman said.

But Solimanreceived an email on Tuesdayinforming him that Justin had failed. That means hisson will have to attend summer school to pass the course, which is required to get a high school diploma.

"The decision that the ministry has taken is very wrong," he said,