Secondary 5 students did not pass their ministerial French test under the same conditions last Thursday, in Quebec. If some classes are only entitled to the paper dictionary, others may use a digital tool considered “better”, Radio-Canada learned, which raises equity issues in the eyes of some. .
The tool in question is the Usito digital dictionary, developed by the University of Sherbrooke and specifically funded by the Government of Quebec.
The user who is unsure of spelling a word just needs to type it in the search bar. Usito makes suggestions in real time, offering synonyms, related words and even conjugation tables for verbs. The tool is therefore faster and more comprehensive than a traditional dictionary.
Last fall, the Ministry of Education mandated that the digital dictionary could be used during a single French exam, but only by students who used it. regular during the school year.
Here’s where the shoe stuck: students unfamiliar with Usito were unable to take advantage on Thursday.
At the Center de services scolaire des Découvreurs, for example, nine Secondary V groups are entitled to Usito. Others have to use a paper dictionary, apart from some students with learning difficulties.
The Center de services scolaire des Découvreurs allowed students to take their ministerial test under the same conditions as their studies and examinations for the current year.explained spokeswoman Marie-Ève Malouin, who did not consider the situation unfair.
” There is no bias towards students, as long as they have the same conditions during the ministerial examination that they have during the study and evaluation situations of the year. “
In addition to the Discoverers, the Navigators, the Premiers-Seigneuries and Charlevoix have all granted access to Usito for at least part of their groups of students, according to our information.
However, this is not the case at the Portneuf School Service Center. The use of the digital dictionary will only be allowed next year, when students will have ample time to adapt the tool to the learning contextindicates the director of educational services for young people, Jacques Moffette.
A two-speed system
A similar situation has caused dissatisfaction at a school in the Center de services scolaire de la Capitale, where a student with attention deficit disorder has no access to Usito, despite requests from his parents.
In an exchange of emails, of which Radio-Canada obtained a copy, the school’s remedial teacher explained to the parents that their daughter’s difficulties did not justify giving her this permission.
Usito has not been known before, his situation also does not meet the standards of the ministry, the remedial teacher wrote. Adaptive measures should also be tested over a long period of time to allow during a ministerial review.he recalled.
Out of concern, the father wrote to the school principal, who pointed out that even his daughter’s French teacher had sounded the alarm a few months ago about her spelling difficulties.
In the same email, the father regrets the establishment of a two-speed system for the single French test, know that the Usito dictionary is freely available in other schools in the province, including many students without learning difficulties.
” There will now be schools and service centers that have a way to offer the tool to all students … and more. “
At the time of writing these lines, Monday at the end of the day, Radio-Canada did not get the desired explanations from the Center de services scolaire de la Capitale.
Better
Julien Bureau, professor of educational sciences at Laval University, states that Usito’s tool is better than the traditional dictionary.
At an equal level of knowledge, there is one that is actually more practical: the digital tool is really versatilesaid the professor.
According to Mr. Bureau, whose ministry allows different tools to pass the single French exam is not a problem in itself. Instead, the impossibility of choosing the right tool for each student challenges him or her.
” The problem here stems from the fact that some people are prevented from having access to a tool that is considered authorized and acceptable for review. “
From an equity point of view, what would be interesting if the tools were chosen according to the preferences of the person doing the analysisadded the Office of the Professor.
A marked practice
Late Monday night, via email, the Ministry of Education indicated that it had no data on the percentage of young people in fifth secondary who had access to the digital dictionary for the single French test last week.
Spokesman Bryan St-Louis, however, said the practice was well marked. For example, educational institutions communication, Internet browsing, translation of texts or the creation, recording or consultation of data shall not be permittedhe describes.
The digital dictionary, the ministry said, had been in use before the pandemic. Mr. St-Louis also maintains that this tool has no effect of favoring young people who have access to it.
According to a study conducted on the use of digital dictionaries following the June 2019 Secondary 5 French exam, it appears that the use of digital dictionaries is not an advantage for student success.
Source: Radio-Canada
