A group of Quebec parents asks to suspend the new obligation, this year, which forces children schooled at home to pass the ministerial exams in 4and and 6and years, as well as in 2and secondary.
The Quebec Association for Home Education (AQED) wants these tests to remain optional among the five possible options for annually assessing the knowledge of children doing homeschooling.
AQED is concerned about the repercussions that the requirement of ministerial examinations could have on these students. About half of them have been taken out of school because they have learning disabilities, disabilities or mental health problems, which the mainstream education system cannot adequately address, according to the organization. .
After repeated unsuccessful requests, AQED says it sent a formal notice last Thursday to the office of the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, “to ask him for urgent intervention to suspend the end-of-year ministerial exams “.
If nothing moves by Wednesday, an injunction will be filed, says the president of the association, Marine Dumond-Després.
“The exams are coming in the next few days, so it’s really something urgent, which we’re going to take very seriously. We seem to have been very open about the consequences it could have on some of our families, ”she said in an interview.
Submitting these exams to these young people could cause anxiety, believes AQED, which represents 4,000 homeschooled children.
“We have young people who will have to go to a school where they have never been, because they have never been to school. Young people who have been bullied – which motivated the choice of withdrawal from school and home education – they will be forced to return to the establishment where they have suffered difficult ordeals”, testifies Mme Dumond-Despres.
Ordering a form of standardized assessment for these students experiencing certain particularities will give a “biased result”, since it will not correspond to the way in which the teaching was provided, believes Mme Dumond-Despres.
“Having a choice allowed parents to opt for the type of assessment most appropriate to their child’s profile. The act of imposing [les examens ministériels]it comes to deny the parent’s choice to do home education using alternative pedagogies, ”she argues.
Documents to prepare homeschooled students for ministerial tests have been provided, but the AQED considers them “insufficient”
Other annual assessment options available to families, according to the homeschooling regulation, include using a private school assessor or submitting a portfolio to the ministry.
The entry into force of the requirement for ministerial examinations stems from an amendment to the regulation. One of the arguments raised by Quebec to defend this change is to ensure that the students follow the training program of the Quebec school, indicated Mr.me Dumond-Despres.
But according to her, parents already fill out a lot of documentation throughout the year allowing the ministry to check the progress of learning.
AQED also deplores the fact that the ministerial exams in 4and and 5and secondary school account for 100% of the final mark for young people educated at home. She asks that the weighting be the same as that of the school network.
The association estimates that there are more than 10,000 homeschooled children in Quebec, but does not know how many young people will be affected by the obligation to take the ministerial exams.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.