MacPHERSON, SHANG: ‘Gap widening between report card grades and standardized test scores’

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Report card grades and standardized test scores should rise and fall at the same time because they evaluate the same group of students in the same subjects. But in Alberta high schools, report card scores are rising, but provincial achievement test (PAT) and diploma exam scores are not.

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The obvious question is why?

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Report card grades partially reflect student performance on homework assignments. However, standardized tests and diploma exams test students on their knowledge and skills in a controlled environment. In Alberta, the gap between report card grades and test/exam scores widened dramatically in 2022, the same year ChatGPT was introduced. Surveys show that Canadian students now rely heavily on ChatGPT (and other artificial intelligence platforms).

Students rely on AI

Here's what the data shows.

In Alberta, between 2016 and 2019 (the latest year of comparable data available), the average standardized test score in math, science, social studies, biology, chemistry, physics, English and French was just 64, while the report card score was 73.3, or 14.5 per cent higher. Data for 2020 and 2021 is unavailable due to school closures due to COVID-19, but between 2022 and 2024 the gap widened to 20%. This trend continued regardless of the type of school, course and whether the student was male or female. Overall, as of 2022, Alberta high school students perform significantly better on report cards than on standardized tests.

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This brings us back to AI. According to a recent KPMG survey, 73% of students in Canada (high schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities) said they use generative AI in their studies, an increase from the previous year. And 71% say their grades have improved after using generative AI.

If AI is simply used to help students with research, that's one thing. But more than two-thirds (66%) of those using generative AI said that although their grades have increased, they don't think they are learning or retaining as much knowledge. Another 48% say their “critical thinking” skills have worsened since they started using AI.

Acquiring knowledge is the basis of higher order thinking and critical analysis. We would be doing students a disservice if we did not ensure that they expanded their knowledge while in school. And if teachers give grades that are significantly inflated due to the use of artificial intelligence at home, they are setting students up for failure. It's the academic equivalent of a ski coach looking at a newbie and saying, “You're ready for the black diamond.” This coach will be fired. Giving inflated grades using AI is unfair to students who will later struggle in college, work, or life outside of school.

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Objective testing is vital

Finally, the growing popularity of AI underscores the importance of standardized testing and credentialing exams. And parents knew this even before the AI ​​wave. A 2022 Leger survey found that 95% of Canadian parents with children in K-12 schools believe it is important to have reliable and objective knowledge of their child's performance in core subjects. Additionally, 84% of parents support standardized testing, particularly to understand how their children are doing in reading, writing, and math. Alberta is one of the few provinces that administers standardized tests and credentialing exams annually.

It is clear that parents must resist any attempt to reduce accountability and fair testing in Alberta schools.

Paige McPherson and Max Shang are analysts at the Fraser Institute.

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