Meeting High Standards

High School Diploma Graduation Requirements

High school graduation requirements ensure students get the basic education they need to do well in their further studies and careers. To receive an Alberta High School Diploma, students must complete a full range of compulsory, core subjects as well as optional courses that broaden their knowledge and skills.

Diploma requirements are set by the Minister of Education and include 100 credits in compulsory and optional courses. Schools are required to provide 25 hours of instruction for each credit. Most courses are worth either three or five credits, and the average course load is 35 credits per year.

Diploma requirements are outlined in the chart below.

Certificate of High School Achievement

Students may also earn a Certificate of High School Achievement according to the requirements outlined in the chart below.

Diploma Examinations

A major purpose of a Grade 12 diploma examination is to certify a student's achievement in a course. Each examination is aligned with the program of studies in order to provide a common assessment for students across the province. This ensures fairness to students and allows them to compete equally for post-secondary admission and scholarships. Grade 12 diploma examinations in the following courses are administered in January, June, and August:

• English Language Arts 30-1
• English Language Arts 30-2
• Français 30
• French Language Arts 30
• Social Studies 30
• Social Studies 33
• Pure Mathematics 30
• Applied Mathematics 30
• Biology 30
• Chemistry 30
• Physics 30
• Science 30

French translations of the diploma examinations in social studies and the mathematics and science courses are provided.

A diploma examination contributes 50% of a student's final mark in the course, and the school-awarded mark contributes the other 50% of the final mark. This blend of marks provides the most accurate picture of the student's achievement because the two marks are complementary. To pass a course, a student must obtain a final blended mark of 50 per cent or higher.

Should a student wish to improve his or her diploma examination mark, the student may do so by rewriting the examination at a subsequent scheduled administration. When a student rewrites a diploma examination, the student's transcript reports only the highest diploma examination mark, the highest school-awarded mark, and the highest final mark achieved within the current school year or the previous two school years. There is a fee associated with rewriting the examination.

Alberta Education issues transcripts of marks and graduation certificates.

Provincial Achievement Tests

The achievement tests are administered annually to all students in Grades 3, 6, and 9; their primary function is to provide schools with reliable and valid information about how well students are achieving grade-level standards. The achievement tests provide a common measure for students in schools across the province. The results are valuable to teachers as a basis for reviewing their instructional programs and help schools and school authorities, as well as the government, to fulfill their responsibility to report to Albertans about the achievement of the students.

All provincial achievement tests are designed on the basis of the Programs of Study. Grade 3 students write achievement tests in Grade 3 Mathematics and English Language Arts. Students in French immersion or francophone programs also write the Grade 3 French Language Arts/Français achievement test. Students in Grades 6 and 9 write achievement tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Grades 6 and 9 students in French immersion and francophone programs also write French Language Arts tests. Students in francophone programs write Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies tests in French. Beginning in 2009, Grade 9 students enrolled in Knowledge and Employability (K & E) courses will write achievement tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. In 2010, Knowledge and Employability Grade 9 Social Studies will be added to coincide with the new social studies curriculum implementation.

All students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 are expected to write the achievement tests for their grades. However, the Superintendent of Schools has the authority to excuse an individual student from an achievement test if it is deemed that the child cannot respond to the test or would be harmed by testing. The superintendent may approve the use of test writing accommodations which are consistent with a student's normal classroom accommodations.

Each school receives two copies of the Individual Student Profile for each student in the school who wrote an achievement test. One copy is for the student's record, and the other is for the student's parents. Schools are encouraged to share the test results with parents and involve them in discussions about improving their child's learning.

National and International Achievement Testing

Alberta participates in national and international studies of achievement, along with other provinces and countries. A national or an international assessment provides a common measure of students' achievement for all the participating provinces and/or countries. In Alberta, the results of these assessments help us to evaluate the standards in the provincial curriculum, which are reflected in the provincial achievement tests and diploma examinations.

For example, In the Fourth International Mathematics and Science Study in 1999, Alberta students scored significantly higher than the international average in Grades 4 and 8 mathematics and science, and Grade 12 advanced mathematics and mathematics/science literacy. Overall, Alberta students posted some of the highest results in the world, particularly in science.

In recent years, students in selected Alberta schools have participated in Pan-Canadian Assessment Program 2007, the Programme for International Student Assessment 2006, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006, and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007.

Student Report Cards

Teachers are required to regularly evaluate student progress, and report how well students are doing in relation to provincial grade-level standards to parents, students and school administrators. Individual teachers may use provincial achievement test results in determining final grades for their students.

Local school boards decide what format to use for report cards and how else to communicate student progress. Many schools schedule parent-teacher interviews as well as issuing written reports on each child’s progress. Parents and school councils may advise schools and boards on the reporting methods they would like to see used.

Evaluation of School Jurisdictions

Alberta Education evaluates the performance of Alberta school jurisdictions on a common set of indicators that are important to parents and the public. The jurisdiction result for each indicator is evaluated on two bases: achievement (the current jurisdiction result compared to a fixed provincial standard) and improvement (the current jurisdiction result compared to the jurisdiction's results in previous years.

These evaluations are provided to school jurisdictions in a one-page document that jurisdictions include each year in their three-year education plans and annual education results reports. These evaluations are part of the Accountability Pillar of the Renewed Funding Framework

• Home
• Using this Site
• Contact Us
• Search
• Site Map
• Accessibility
• Privacy
• Website Feedback Survey

• Minister's Office Expenses
• International Travel Expenses
• Alberta Government Ministries