Administrative Procedure 391

STUDENT APPEALS OF SCHOOL-AWARDED GRADES

Background

Junior and senior high students have the right to appeal school-awarded grades.

Procedures

1. The Principal is responsible for:
   1. ensuring teachers provide each student with a clear statement of:
      1. course objectives;
      2. course content;
      3. evaluation and assessment procedures;
      4. other criteria to be used in evaluation; and
      5. appeal procedures.
   2. ensuring comparable assessment from one class to another in the same course within a school in terms of:
      1. course outcomes, objectives and content;
      2. evaluation/assessment procedures and criteria;
      3. standards of achievement; and
      4. teacher understanding of Administrative Procedure 360: Learning Assessment, so as to increase the likelihood of consistent assessment procedures and practices across Division schools.
2. A student, or guardian acting on the student’s behalf, shall have the right to appeal the final standing awarded in any subject.
3. Information about the appeal process is to be communicated to students and parents/guardians annually.
   1. Appeal of junior and senior high school grades at the school level
      1. The first appeal shall be made in writing to the Principal and outline the reason(s) for making the request. The appeal deadline for the first semester is no later than the last day of February and second semester is no later than the last day of July. The exact deadline for each school will be detailed in their Guide to Reporting Student Achievement, available on the school website.
      2. The Principal shall acknowledge receipt of the appeal and indicate to the student the expected date when a decision with regard to the appeal shall be reached.
         1. For appeals of grades awarded during the first semester, the Principal’s ruling shall be conveyed to the student within one week of the student appeal.
         2. For second semester appeals, the Principal’s ruling shall be made available to the student within one week of the opening of the next school year.
      3. Teachers shall make available to the Principal all final examinations and other pertinent material used in the evaluation of students as directed by the Principal.
      4. The Principal shall employ as many of the following procedures as may be necessary when reviewing the final grade awarded to a student:
         1. consultation with teacher(s) involved;
         2. a check of records;
         3. a personal hearing of the student’s appeal;
         4. a review of evaluation procedures followed; and
         5. the granting of permission to the student to see the graded final examination.
      5. The Principal shall confirm in writing the outcome for the appeal to the student and keep a copy of the response and supporting documentation on file as outlined in the Records Retention Schedule (Appendix 185-A).
      6. If there is an urgent reason for an appeal, such as scholarships, entry into a post-secondary institution or job placement, the following procedures shall be used:
         1. The student wishing to appeal marks must do so upon receipt of their report card by the last day of the semester in question.
         2. The Principal shall rule on the urgency of the appeal.
         3. Where the Principal deems the appeal to be urgent, they shall acknowledge the urgency and process the appeal according to sections 3.1.4.3 and 3.1.4.4. The results shall be forwarded immediately to the student and the student’s parent/guardian.
         4. Although principals and teachers are not required to be available for appeal purposes during their regular vacation periods, each Principal is expected to make arrangements to deal with urgent appeals.
   2. Should a student or parent/guardian not be satisfied with the outcome of an appeal made to the Principal, the student or parent/guardian may request a hearing from the Superintendent or designate.
   3. School-based assessments from a school year should be retained until the last day of August.
   4. Appeal of Diploma Exam marks
      1. The student has the right of appeal to Alberta Education, in accordance with the Guide to Education. The Principal shall provide the student with the procedures for contacting Alberta Education.
      2. The student has the right to request their diploma examination be re-scored or to re-write the examination at a later date.

References

Section 3, 11, 17, 31, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, 44, 52, 53, 196, 197, 222 Education Act
Guide to Education, ECS to Grade 12

Last updated: August 2021