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Part of Diploma exams

Writing diploma exams

Guides, exemplars, rules, and other information to help students prepare for Grade 12 diploma exams.

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Diploma exams

2023-24 diploma exam update

The weighting of diploma exams will return to 30% effective September 1, 2023.

Students who wrote a diploma exam or completed a diploma exam course in 2022-23 may still be eligible for the 20% weighting that applied last year. For more information about these special circumstances, see the Diploma exam weighting overview fact sheet.

Important dates

Digital tests and exams

Alberta Education is transitioning to a new digital platform for provincial student assessments, meaning that eventually students will write diploma exams and provincial achievement tests in a digital environment rather than pencil and paper.

The transition to digital assessments will be done in an incremental and measured way to allow school authorities, administrators, teachers, and students time to learn and interact with the new platform. For the 2023-24 school year, Alberta Education is in touch with school authorities directly to offer them opportunities to participate in a variety of optional implementation activities. Teachers, parents and students can navigate the assessment platform and access practice exams and resources. Questions and feedback may be directed to [email protected]. If you have questions about whether your school will be administering digital assessments this school year, please contact your school principal.

Principals can contact the [email protected] to request access for their school so they can set up their account and add other administrators and teachers. Once teachers have been added and set up their account, they can administer practice written response assignments. Instructions on using the system can be found in this user guide.

Guides for students

The Alberta government creates and maintains the following guides to help students prepare to write diploma exams:

Exemplars, examples of students' writing and practice questions

Find practice questions on Quest A+.

Support documents

How to register

Registration for Alberta high school students

School staff will register students enrolled in diploma exams courses for the first time.

Students who retake courses will not automatically be registered. These students must register online using myPass.

Students must contact a writing centre to request permission to write at that centre before self-registering.

This information is updated annually in the spring.

Registration for mature students

Mature students may write diploma exams without taking diploma exam courses in the following sessions:

  • November
  • January
  • April
  • June
  • August

Mature students who want to write a diploma exam without taking the course must register online with myPass.

They also must make arrangements to ensure that space and a diploma exam are available, either by speaking with the principal of the high school where they intend to write or a designated writing centre.

Definition of mature student status

A mature student is someone who, as of September 1 of the current school year, is either:

  • 19 years of age or older, or
  • the holder of a previously awarded high school diploma from Alberta or an equivalent high school diploma from a jurisdiction acceptable to the Minister of Education

Mature student status is granted effective September 1 for the current school year. If a student is uncertain about their status as a mature student, they can call the Provincial Approach to Student Information (PASI) and Student Records at 780‑422‑9337 (toll-free 310-0000 within Alberta).

Rules

Carefully read the Diploma Exam Rules for Students (PDF, 129 KB) before writing your diploma exams.

Materials

Students must bring their own writing materials for all exams, including:

  • pens
  • HB pencils
  • one approved and appropriately configured calculator

To ensure equity and fairness to all students, only calculators that have been approved by Alberta Education may be used when writing diploma exams. Students may use only one calculator (scientific or graphing) with no prohibited properties during a diploma exam. The calculator directives, expectations, criteria, and keystrokes required for clearing approved calculators are in the 2023-24 Calculator Information and Rules for Mathematics and Science Diploma Exams (PDF, 291 KB).

Tear-out pages for rough work are provided in each biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and science exam booklet.

Special provisions or accommodations

Accommodations and provisions are available for students with a special diploma exam writing need. This may include:

  • additional time to write the exam
  • audio versions of exams
  • large print
  • Braille

Talk to your principal or school counsellor for more information.

Emergencies

Talk to your principal or school counsellor if any of the following situations prevent you from writing a diploma exam you registered for:

  • illness
  • school closure
  • accident or death in your immediate family

You may be permitted to write at a Special Writing Centre if you are out of the province when diploma exams are administered. Speak with your principal for more information.

Appeals

You may rewrite a diploma exam or ask to have it rescored if you believe that your diploma exam mark does not accurately reflect your level of achievement in a course.

To request a rescore of a diploma exam, apply online using myPass.

The deadline to request a rescore is provided on your Results Statement. Requests received after the deadline will not be granted.

The fee for rescoring each exam is $26.25 (including GST). This fee is refunded if your exam mark is raised by 5% or more as a result of a rescore.

Your most recent school-awarded mark will be blended with the rescore exam mark, and a new Results Statement will be available on myPass.

The mark resulting from rescoring becomes your final exam mark, even if it is lower than the original mark.

Rescoring the machine-scored section rarely changes the score. Refer to the written response raw score reported on your Results Statement to help you decide if you want your exam rescored.

Rewrites

Improving your mark

If a diploma exam has 2 parts, you must write (or rewrite) both parts of the diploma exam during the same diploma exam administration to earn credit for that diploma exam course. If this is impossible, talk to your principal or school counsellor.

You may repeat a diploma course without rewriting the diploma exam. However, students who received an exemption and retake instruction in a diploma exam course must write the diploma exam to acquire a final official mark associated with the new school-awarded mark. Exemptions are not carried forward.

You may also rewrite a diploma exam without repeating the diploma course.

When you repeat a course or rewrite a diploma exam, your new Results Statement will list your most recently earned marks. Your new transcript, if you request one, will show only the highest diploma exam mark and highest school-awarded mark earned.

Rewrite fees

Students are charged a non-refundable rewrite registration fee for a diploma exam if they have written a diploma exam in this course within the current or two previous school years.

If students are rewriting a diploma exam they must pay a rewrite fee of $26.25 (including GST) per exam. The rewrite fee for non‑funded visiting students is $50.00 (including GST) per exam.

The rewrite fee is non‑refundable and cannot be transferred to other diploma exams or other diploma exam administrations even if the diploma exam is not written.

Rewrite fees can be paid online using myPass or by cheque or money order in the mail made payable to the “Government of Alberta”.

Payment must be submitted and received prior to the exam date.

Contact

Inquiries about student enrolment, marks, and mature student status

Phone: 780-422-9337
Email: [email protected]

Inquiries about transcripts, credentials, detailed academic reports, and rewrite fees

Phone: 780-427-5732
Email: [email protected]

Special cases, accommodations, and exemptions

Phone: 780-427-9795
Phone: 780‑415-9242
Phone: 780-427-4215
Email: [email protected]

To contact us with questions about Provincial Assessment Sector

Phone: 780-427-1857
Email: [email protected]

To call toll free (within Alberta)

Dial 310-0000 before the phone number.

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