About the ministerial examinations in elementary and secondary school

Ministerial examinations are set in certain subjects at different points in the students’ educational path. These examinations serve as important measuring tools to evaluate the students’ level of competency development.

The Ministère de l’Éducation is responsible for producing two types of ministerial examinations: those in elementary school and Secondary II, and those in Secondary IV and V. School organizations, educational institutions and teachers may also administer other types of examinations and use other methods to evaluate the students’ learning. 

Examinations in elementary school and Secondary II

The ministerial examinations in elementary school and Secondary II are designed to verify that the requirements for certain programs have been met. They count for 20% of the final mark for the competency or competencies evaluated.

Examinations in Secondary IV and V

The ministerial examinations in Secondary IV and V count for 50% of the final mark for the competency or competencies evaluated.

Other examinations

School organizations, educational institutions or teachers may administer other examinations in certain subjects and at certain times when the Ministère is not carrying out any evaluations. In these cases, school administrators are responsible for approving, based on the teachers’ suggestions, the standards and procedures for local evaluations and for properly informing the students and their parents of the exams.

Ministerial examinations are the property of the Québec government, before, during and after they are administered. The process of ensuring the security of exams is a responsibility shared by the Ministère, the school organizations (school service centres, school boards, and private and public educational institutions) and school staff.

Security measures in place

Several measures are put in place before, during and after the administration of the examinations in accordance with responsibilities of the different people involved. All of these actions aim to preserve the integrity of the examinations, and to ensure that the students’ results are processed fairly and equitably. 

Before the examination

Before administering the examination to students, the staff must:

• ensure that the specific measures for the transportation, storage, distribution and reproduction of the examinations is respected
• remind students and the other staff that it is prohibited to disclose any information regarding the examinations by any means whatsoever, including on social media
• inform students of the instructions for the administration of the examinations: schedule, procedure, authorized materials, etc.

During the examination

During the administration of the examination, staff must remind students that:

• they are strictly forbidden to have in their possession any personal mobile device (smartphone, wireless headphones or earbuds, smartwatch, etc.)
• they are strictly forbidden to have in their possession any materials that are not authorized for the examination

Students who violate these rules will be declared guilty of cheating and will receive the mark “ANN,” which is equivalent to 0% in the calculation of the final mark. 

After the examination

The staff must give the marking guides and answer keys to the teachers only after the ministerial examination has been fully administered. 

Additional security measures

Other security measures are also in place:

• Making school staff aware that they must be vigilant  
• Reminding the different staff members of their responsibilities
• Developing guidelines for students regarding the sharing of confidential information on social media
• Implementing a procedure to report breaches of confidentiality

Reporting a breach of confidentiality

If you have witnessed a breach of confidentiality, please contact us by email as soon as possible.

Educational institutions are responsible for administering the ministerial examinations and must provide the required premises and supervisory personnel. The Ministère provides the ministerial examination materials.

Every year, the Ministère publishes an official schedule for the ministerial examination sessions. Educational institutions must fully respect this schedule. Ministerial examination sessions are slated for January, June and August of each year.

To be admitted to a ministerial examination in Secondary IV or V, a student must have been legally enrolled in a school, and must have taken the corresponding program or received equivalent instruction at home following an exemption from school attendance. Furthermore, when a student has taken a course, the educational institution cannot refuse the student admission to the examination on the grounds of too many absences or low marks.

Depending on the examination, the responsibility for marking is shared by the Ministère and the educational institutions.

The marking of the Secondary V French, Language of Instruction examination is centralized at the Ministère.

The responsibility for marking the Secondary IV Mathematics, Secondary IV Science and Secondary V French as a Second Language examinations is shared by the Ministère and the educational institutions. The multiple-choice part of these examinations is marked by optical reader at the Ministère, and the constructed-response part is marked by the student’s teacher based on a marking guide produced by the Ministère.

Other examinations, such as those for Secondary IV History of Québec and Canada and Secondary V English as a Second Language, are marked entirely by the student’s teacher based on a marking guide produced by the Ministère.

The Administrative Guide for the Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examination (PDF 2.75 Mb) sets out the administrative rules that school boards and other educational institutions must apply with respect to the evaluation and certification of studies. Some of the rules contained in this Guide may no longer be in application. An update is in progress.