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Centralized virtual schools and synchronous delivery in Ontario

September 21, 2020

Canada's largest school board attempts to centralize the virtual instruction of their Ontario curriculum. A model called centralized online education promises to be more effective than what was hastily prepared in the spring, but some are concerned of this new implementation.

British Columbia pushes back school start date

September 19, 2020

Government of British Columbia announces delay in originally planned school start date for more gradual return. British Columbia’s plan includes new health and safety measures, increased funding for protective equipment like masks and new learning groups to help keep everyone safe.

National exams, including PSLE and O levels, will proceed but with Covid-19 special arrangements

September 18, 2020

Education Ministry and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) announced that four national examinations in Singapore will go on as scheduled, but with special arrangements made to ensure that students and invigilators remain safe from the Covid-19 virus.

Canadian Medical Students Demand Change After ‘Inhumane’ Exam Conditions

September 18, 2020

Graduating medical school students are required to take part one of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam (MCCQE) at some point during their first year of residency. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students will now have to take the exam online which has resulted in several difficulties.

Update of IB in Pakistan for May 2020 examination sessions

September 17, 2020

International Baccalaureate cancels May 2020 DP examinations and the MYP eAssessment, to ensure that IB students are not disadvantaged as they progress to their next phase of education.

New math curriculum for Grades 1-8

September 17, 2020

Ontario’s released a new full math curriculum for Grades 1-8 in the summer and teachers will use it in classrooms starting in September 2020. However, teachers decry 'unrealistic' math curriculum rollout during pandemic, saying they've had little guidance on material they're expected to teach in just a few weeks.

Minister Foley announces Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades to issue to students directly

September 16, 2020

Minister of Education Foley announced that Calculated Grades will be issued to students directly, in addition to issuing simultaneously to students' schools. This change comes as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and making sure students and staff stay safe.

Alberta parents and teachers protest provincial re-entry plans, call for smaller class sizes

September 16, 2020

With the school year in Alberta beginning the first week of September, parents and teachers are protesting provincial re-entry plans. Protests have been held outside more than two dozen MLA offices across Alberta, putting pressure on the province to implement changes for school in the fall.

Updates on reopening of schools and changes to 2021 state examinations

September 16, 2020

Ireland Department of Education releases statement on plans to fully re-open schools for this upcoming academic year. Minister of Education Foley also provided an update on state examinations for 2021.

Postponed 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations

September 15, 2020

Minister of Education Foley announced that the 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations will be postponed until November 2020, subject to public health advice and engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister Reps’ address on the state examinations in Estonia in 2020

September 14, 2020

Minister of Education and Research of Estonia announces that students will be able to take two state exams on a voluntary basis: Estonian language and mathematics. English exam will not be held this year.

No plans for mass school closure in event of COVID-19 autumn second wave

September 14, 2020

The new school year is set to stick to the traditional September 1 start date, despite having closed down initially in March and making state exams in Math and Estonian language option due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The education ministry also says that an autumn coronavirus second wave would not lead to a repeat of the mass school closures that spring's outbreak brought.

International Baccalaureate to revise student grades

September 11, 2020

Thousand of students who received the International Baccalaureate diploma this year will have their grades increased. This comes after backlash IB applied its algorithms to adjust their final results downwards, causing students failing to meet their university offers.

School grades in 2021 'should be set by teachers'

September 10, 2020

After this year's GCSEs and A-levels fiasco, calls have been made that next year's results need to be based again on teacher assessments. Several top education officials have also been fired or released due to the mishandling of this year's exam results.

Changes to 2020-2021 school calendar in Spain

September 10, 2020

The pandemic has shifted Spain's academic calendar for the 2020-2021 year, announced by the Education Sector. Students will also have postponed entrance exams in all autonomous communities and later university enrollment dates.

Selectividad 2020: the most controversial exam

September 09, 2020

The 'Selectividad' exam have been more flexible, with greater optionality, due to the confinement suffered by students by the coronavirus pandemic. Aside from the flexibility during the pandemic, the exam has faced several controversies with changes to different parts of the exam.

BTec students begin receiving revised grades

September 09, 2020

BTec results were released and students will be receiving revised grades. Grading was delayed by Pearson due to recalculation after A-level and GCSE results were lowered that affected over 400,000 students.

The August SAT Is Cancelled For Nearly Half Of Students

September 09, 2020

Of the 402,000 students registered to take the SAT and SAT Subject Tests in August, nearly half will be unable to take the test for which they signed up because so many testing centers have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dutch scrap centralised school leaving exams, diplomas based on course work

September 09, 2020

Education Minister of Netherlands announced that central school leaving exams have been cancelled. This comes after secondary school organizations urged the government, saying that it is impossible to organize these exams in a safe way during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vocational and technical qualifications awarding for 2020

September 09, 2020

Full publications and press releases from the Government of United Kingdom relating to the changes of awarding vocational and technical qualifications in the academic year for 2019-2020. Ofqual has been working with awarding organizations to ensure alternative arrangements of over 14,000 qualifications.

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