School district 22 teacher ordered suspended

Nov 6, 2019 | 8:00 AM

A grade 12 English teacher at School District 22 has been ordered suspended after violating ministry exam security policy.

According to a consent resolution agreement, Maria Concetta MacDonald has agreed to a three-day suspension of her licence from Dec. 18- 20 2019.

The British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation states that MacDonald distributed an old grade 12 provincial examination to students for study purposes even though the exam was deemed “secure” by the ministry and not permitted to be used as a study aid.

“MacDonald used this Secure Exam to prepare her students, even though she was aware that the Ministry of Education re-used readings and questions from the secure exams,” the consent resolution read.

Students in MacDonald’s English class took the provincial exam on January 25, 2018 , and the test included content from the secure exam which was given to the students prior by MacDonald.

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The consent resolution agreement said that MacDonald knew the two tests contained the same content but she did not tell school officials about the breach.

School District 22 conducted an investigation into the matter and the secure exam provided by MacDonald was found to be altered. A notice indicating that the “copying, storing, or sharing of the exam” is a direct violation was shielded.

When asked by district officials about the alteration of the secure exam MacDonald stated that “she did not recall and thought it was just a piece of paper on top.”

Following the district’s investigation into the breach, MacDonald was suspended without pay for one day on March 12, 2018.

A few months later an employee with the Ministry of Education reported MacDonald to the commissioner on June 25, 2018. The district later followed suit, filing a report under the School Act on Sept. 12, 2018.

The consent resolution agreement was signed in Vernon by MacDonald on Oct. 4, 2019.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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