After a marked drop in success rates in French observed last year, students passed in greater numbers in the Ministry exams last June. This is also the case in science and mathematics.
What there is to know
The results of the June 2023 Ministry exams show that the pass rate is higher than last year in almost all subjects assessed.
The results in French were particularly expected: last year, we saw a sharp increase in the failure rate.
The current school year marks a return to normal after the light regime of recent years. The June 2024 exams will count for up to 50% of the report card grade.
The Ministry of Education provided this data to The PressFriday.
In French, students of 5e secondary school students passed the Ministry’s written production exam last June in a proportion of 74.8%, an increase of five percentage points compared to 2022 (69.8%).
However, this is lower than the results before the pandemic. In June 2019, the success rate for this end-of-course test was 78.9%.
“There is an upswing. Last year we were really worried [que les résultats] continue to decline,” recalls Nicole Monney, professor in the education sciences department at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC).
Last January, figures obtained by The Press had demonstrated that the failure rate was sharply increasing in written French among young people in secondary school. In certain school service centers, almost half of the students had failed this exam.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Bernard Drainville, Minister of Education
The Minister of Education Bernard Drainville then said he was “concerned” by the declining results. He has since announced that he wishes to renew the French program at primary and secondary levels by the start of the 2025 school year.
Success rates on the rise in other subjects
In science and technology, the increase in the success rate for the Ministry exam is marked. In 2022, 75.6% of students obtained a passing grade on the exam. 82.2% of them passed the test last June.
For Nicole Monney, schools have managed to overcome the “big gap” experienced during the pandemic. “This is good news,” said the UQAC professor.
She believes, after two years of what could be called “normal” results, that “the school has managed to get back on track”.
Students also passed the ministerial tests in a greater proportion in English. In mathematics, depending on the course chosen, success rates have sometimes fallen slightly, but are generally closer to what they were before the pandemic.
A return to greater weighting
In 2020 and 2021, the Ministry’s unique tests were canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The current school year therefore officially marks the end of the “light” years for students. The Ministry exams which will take place next June will be worth up to 50% of the report card mark for 4 year old students.e and 5e secondary.
By adding a “little motivation factor,” given the high weighting, the results may be even higher next year, says Nicole Monney.
The Ministry of Education also provided The Press the success rate for courses that include compulsory tests. They are like what we see on exams: on the rise.
In French, for example, the student success rate last year was 89%. 85% of students passed their Quebec and Canadian history course.
However, it is more revealing to observe the results of single tests, notes Professor Nicole Monney.
“This is what is more stable from one year to the next. When we take the success rate with the teaching that was done in class, it can vary greatly from one year to the next. The single test doesn’t move much, it’s easier to compare,” explains M.me Money.