1 March 2021

Compensation fund opens for those impacted by incorrect exam results

VICTORIA – The compensation fund is accepting applications online for students who can demonstrate losses or expenses that arose from the June 2019 provincial Grade 12 exam tabulation errors.

Apology letters are being sent to all students whose exam marks were impacted.

The Ministry of Education is taking these steps to fulfil the final two recommendations from the Office of the Ombudsperson report Course Correction: The Ministry of Education 2019 Provincial Exams Errors, released on Aug. 20, 2020. The ministry has acted on all six of the recommendations in the report.

The ministry has already implemented recommendations one through four, relating to processes and protocols for quality assurance, escalation of issues and communication protocols.

There will be a clear process for individuals to apply for reimbursement, which is open online: https://www.gov.bc.ca/2019grade12examcompensation

The ministry has worked to establish a fair and transparent process for receiving, reviewing and determining compensation claims. An independent third party will provide adjudication services for the compensation fund. Applicants will be notified of claim decisions and the reasons for claim validity or denial. There will also be a detailed process for appeal.

Following the errors, the ministry made immediate changes to policies and procedures to ensure a more rigorous process is used for processing provincial assessments, which are no longer tied to grades.

The compensation program launches on Monday, March 1, 2021. Claim submissions and adjudication will take place from March 1 to May 24. Compensation will be issued for validated claims by August 2021.