Overcoming the post Christmas break doldrums in a month when we are bombarded by winter weather is a hardship; but, we must also prepare ourselves for the provincial literacy exam.
By | Saray Membrano
January 21st UPDATE: The Ministry of Education has cancelled the January 26th Literacy & Numeracy exams.
January is the start of a brand-new year, and should be a time of renewal and resolutions. However, waking up early, and the cold weather and winter storms, lead us (students) into a prolonged rut, where we remain unmotivated to be rid of our post-winter break blues.
As we return to class, students are certainly more compelled to fall asleep mid-lesson, slack on homework, and convince themselves the semester might as well be over and done with.
Even the teachers have taken notice of our prolonged apathy.
But wait! It gets more dire – this month is also known as “exam-uary”, and in this case, the long-awaited provincial literacy assessment.
Think of it as an exam that is not conveyed on report cards, but leaves a permanent stamp on your transcript. This is the type of reality that both Grade 10s and Grade 12s wish had not manifested into something so tangible and unavoidable.
The BC Ministry of Education has sold it as Building Student Success.
In order to be successful, and satisfy the Ministry’s graduation requirements, students in grades ten and twelve must complete the exam. The literacy assessment is a tool to analyze a student’s comprehension of the English language.
The ability to communicate our understanding through persuasive essays, and diagram analysis in a two-hour window, is how students build success, apparently.
The question remains: how do we study for an assessment as important as this? Truth be told, we do not.
First, English has never been that type of subject where you can write down hundreds of pages of notes and create online flashcards.
Moreover, nobody has ever heard of a “Composition Study Session” after all, and for good reason. What you can do is prepare yourself for the ‘original composition’ portion of the assessment. That will be your moment to shine and to write with your true, authentic voice.
Finally, establishing a well-thought-out plan by brainstorming ideas, formulating a thesis, and gathering together evidence to support your claim is always a good boilerplate for writing success.
You should also access the online sample assessment through the following link in order to get a feel for what is coming:
It is up to students to take the initiative and be aware of such advantages like the resources available online in order to be successful.
Lots of pictograms and vocabulary words that make you question if you are actually fluent in English await!
this article will help me prepare for the assessment in gr 12.
Thanks for this great reminder, will be helpful later for future assessments.