Mid-day Thursday, the Alberta government posted and subsequently deleted an update to their Diploma exams overview page, saying that January 2026 exams will be cancelled. Now, the government has officially confirmed that all January 2026 diploma and Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) have been cancelled.
The decision was made to ensure students and teachers can concentrate on learning after lost instructional time due to the teacher strike. The cancellation is said to not affect students’ ability to apply to, be accepted by, or attend post-secondary institutions, but students who do not write January diploma exams, can choose to take those exams in June.
Students who choose not to write at a later date will receive their school-awarded mark as their final official course mark. A notation will be added to transcripts confirming that no diploma exam was written. This ensures there is no impact on students’ ability to graduate or transition into post-secondary programs, the press release reads.
School authorities will meet all learning outcomes for the school year and will have flexibility to adjust the school calendar as needed. Any changes in the school calendar will be communicated to families by their school.
November Diploma exams were made optional for students on Oct. 17.
Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides previously told LWC that January Diploma exams were under consideration for material alteration and potential cancellation.
“If we want school boards to meet all of the learning outcomes that have been identified for this school year, we might have to look at canceling (Provincial Achievement Tests) PATs and Diploma (exams in January) as teachers would need to take time away from the classroom to prepare students for those exams,” he told LWC.
“If we want students to go ahead with those exams, we may need to adjust the learning outcomes that we would expect school divisions to meet. There’s a little bit of a balance and trade-off there, which we’re currently evaluating.”
On Wednesday, Nicolaides told LWC that a decision on January exams was to be announced in the coming days, having now been made official.
“The number one priority as I talk with our school boards and other partners, is to make sure that we’re able to make up for the learning that students have lost as a consequence of the strike,” Nicolaides said.
