La Ruche students protest test redo after computer screw-up

Some 40 students from École secondaire de La Ruche in Magog have denounced a decision from the Ministry of Education that will force them to re-take a final French exam because of a computer malfunction. The problem occurred on May 9 during a final written exam for Level 5 students. Apparently, an unexpected update on some computers allowed some students to access the Antidote grammar correction software during the test.

As a result, the Ministry does not recognize the exam’s validity and is requiring the 37 students concerned to take the test again. This, as could be expected, sat poorly with the students who have decided to mobilize to claim injustice. The students ask why they should be penalized for a mistake that they had nothing to do with. In addition, supervisors were in class during the exam and would have seen if anyone had cheated. They claim forcing students to retake an exam that requires so much preparation is decidedly unfair.

The students hope the Ministry will reverse itself and make a less drastic decision. Absent of this, the test will take place as planned on June 9. The students complain that since Antidote software only corrects spelling errors; anything else, whether it's the content of the work, the argument, or the structure is the work of the students and that ignoring that fact makes no sense.