The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils (NLFSC) says their membership supports the idea of suspending Public Examinations for the 2020-2021 school year. The group endorses the recent views expressed by the school councils of Holy Spirit High, O’Donel High, Holy Heart of Mary, and Prince of Wales Collegiate that making public exams mandatory, particularly for students in semesterized schools, will have a negative effect on their academic success.

“School Councils and parents are saying Public Exams should not take place this year because the loss of instructional time, due to the pandemic, has created gaps in learning for some students,” says Don Coombs, NLFSC President. “Councils and parents are also worried that potential interruptions in learning during this coming school year would result in an additional loss of core curriculum learning for many students. When instructional time has been missed it has a direct correlation with a students ability to perform well on standardized tests. It is unfair to expect some students to perform well on public exams when they haven’t covered the material.” NLFSC feels that regular assessments and evaluations by teachers throughout the coming year is the best way to measure academic performance.