High school students may have been praying that flood waters would delay their final exams, but those prayers have gone unanswered.
The Rainy River District School Board has decided exams would go on as scheduled starting Wednesday morning.
Students unable to attend exams due to road closures or bus cancellations are asked to call Fort Frances High School and speak with one of the two vice-principals to get an exemption from the exam, FFHS vice-principal Gord McCabe said Tuesday.
McCabe warned that simply calling the high school to say you aren’t coming in wouldn’t guarantee an exemption.
“We need to approve the exemption,” McCabe stressed. “We will deal with it on a case-by-case basis. If a student has a failing mark and needs the opportunity to write the exam to save their credit, then they will.
“We’re hoping that if some parents are coming into work, they can bring their kids,” McCabe added.
The decision to continue with exams, which will run until next Tuesday, was a result of tight scheduling between now and graduation slated for next Wednesday.
“The first part of the schedule is heavy on seniors’ classes to give enough time for graduation,” McCabe noted.
Pushing exams back would make it almost impossible for teachers to have marks ready in time for graduation.
“It’s difficult marking 30 OAC English exams in one night when it takes each student three hours to complete the exam,” he explained.
McCabe added the school also must ensure the credibility of exams, noting it would not be fair if students were allowed to write the same exam that classmates completed two and three days earlier and given the opportunity to ask others for the answers.
