The education minister is considering how it will handle the Grade 10 history exam.
Education Minister Sebastien Proulx cancelled the results of one part of the exam that was worth 24 per cent after it was leaked online.
Some students claim it hurt their grades, including John Rennie High School Justin Soliman. He said he thought he did well, but discovered on Tuesday he failed the class.
He’s now required to go to summer school.
His father Chaher Soliman said he can't say definitively whether Justin would have passed the exam if the question counted, but believes he would have.
Proulx said he is concerned about stories like these, adding that he'll wait to see if there's a higher failure rate this year in Grade 10 history than in previous years.
If so, he will consider lowering the pass rate from 60 per cent to 57 or, worst case scenario, consider withdrawing the complete exam.
Soliman said he believes the exam should be repeated for students across the province.
“It is costly, expensive, but if they're responsible enough that's the best and surest way to apply fairness,” he said.
According to the Lester B. Pearson School Board, 50 per cent of the students who took the exam have been graded and so far, the failure rate is not higher than years past.
“The pass rate that we heard so far is not great, but it hasn't been great for years,” said school board chair Suanne Stein Day.
Proulx said he will have a better idea of the situation next week – and Justin Soliman will find out if he will be spared summer school.
