Chris Puglia
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 23/02) - Students in Grade 12 at St. Patrick high school scored higher on diploma exams in June compared January of 2002.

"The most significant development is that we have closed the gap between the Alberta results and the school based marks," said Johnny Bowden, St. Pat's principal.

The best results were in English 30 and 33 and Physics 30. In the English 30 program, 91.2 per cent of students received a passing grade compared to Alberta's 90.2 per cent. In English 33, 82.4 per cent achieved a passing grade compared to 77 per cent in Alberta. In Physics 30, St. Pat's was less than a percentage point below Alberta at 83.4 per cent.

An area where students continue to struggle, according to diploma exam results is Biology 30. Only 60 per cent of students achieved a passing grade, while 80.6 per cent of Alberta students received a passing grade.

Kern Von Hagen, Catholic schools superintendent, said the school is reviewing the diploma exam results and will be looking at strategies and solutions to address certain areas.

The challenge, according to Bowden, is you don't want to teach strictly for the diploma exams.

"The challenge is how do you first and foremost make education fun and enriching," he said.

Also, there are many cases when certain successes are not identified in diploma exam results.

A passing grade of 51 per cent for a student in Social Studies 33, for example, was a tremendous achievement for that student, said Bowden.

"There are many students who have had success that don't show on diploma exam results," said Bowden.