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TESTING

(A) PROVINCIAL EXAMS – Grades 10, 11, and 12
Graduation Program Examinations were implemented by the Ministry to ensure that Grade 10, 11 and 12 students meet consistent provincial standards of achievement in academic subjects. Provincial Examinations are developed by teachers and are based on provincial curricula. Teachers mark the exams using a rigorous standards-based scoring guide and procedure. Exams include both selected response (e.g., multiple choice, true/false) and written-response questions that vary in cognitive level. Provincial Examinations are designed to be two hours in length. However, students are permitted an additional 60 minutes to write their exams. York House students generally write Provincial Exams in June, but it is not uncommon for Honours French and/or Honours Mathematics students to sit January exams in those respective subjects.

Except for English 12, all Grade 12 Provincial Examinations are optional. Some universities are now not requiring students to write the Provincial Examination, in order for the course in question to be considered for admissions purposes. However, the policy on examinations varies from university to university. It is also important for students to be aware that universities are still requiring that students take provincially examinable courses to be accepted. For further information on university admissions and Provincial Examinations, please refer to the university website or consult the Director of University Admissions.

Provincially Examinable courses offered at York House:
Mandatory Exams: English 10, Science 10, Math 10, Socials 11, English 12
Optional Exams: Biology 12, Mathematics 12, Chemistry 12, English Literature 12, French 12, Geography 12, History 12, Physics 12, and Spanish 12.

Final Marks and Provincial Examinations
Grade 10, 11 and 12 exam results are blended with the school-issued marks to generate final course marks that appear on Ministry-issued transcripts. Grade 10 and 11 exams each count for 20% of the final course mark. Grade 12 exams count for 40%. Students must pass the courses required for graduation to earn graduation credits. For the purpose of reporting final marks to universities, the Ministry Letter Grade Scale is:

A = 86-100%
B = 73-85%
C+ = 67-72%
C = 60-66%
C- = 50-59%
D = 0-49%
I = In Progress

(B) YORK HOUSE YEAR END EXAMS – Grades 8-11
All York House students in Grades 8-9 sit locally developed subject exams in English, Socials, French, Math, and Science. In Grade 10 students write locally developed subject exams in French, Spanish, and Math, as well as Biology 11 and/or Earth Science 11 (depending on the student’s timetable). Additionally, York House year-end exams are written in Chemistry 11, Physics 11, and Calculus 12. In general, York House exams constitute 25% of a student’s final grade. For the purpose of reporting final non-Provincially Examinable marks to the Ministry the following York House Grading Scale is used:

A = 86-100%
B+ = 80-85%
B = 73-79%
C+ = 67-72%
C = 60-66%
C- = 50-59%
F = 0-49%

C ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) EXAMS
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams are externally set by the College Board and are written by Grade 11 and 12 students. They provide students with a standardized measure of what they’ve accomplished in the classroom, and are considered to be an essential part of the AP experience. The exams take place during the first two weeks of May and are written at York House School. Students receive their grades directly from the College Board and can choose to report their results to post secondary institutions. Exams are graded according to the following scale:

5 = Extremely well qualified
4 = Well qualified
3 = Qualified
2 = Possibly qualified
1 = Not qualified

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