Alberta students pay for help to prep for diploma exams

As Grade 12 students inAlberta hit the books to prepare for their diploma exams, some of their parents are opening their wallets.

Many are spending hundreds of dollarson tutoring and extra courses to help their childrenprepare for theexams, which are currentlyworth 50 per cent of a student's final mark.

• Alberta education makes final exams worth less

Prep courses for individualdiploma exams can cost between $75 and$300 and are offered by private institutions and the boards of education in some cases.

Julia Zarkov is a Grade 12 student at William AberhartHigh School in Calgary. She took a review course to help her prepare for her chemistry exam.

"You feel like, if I fail this test then I can't get into university and it's like your whole future's wrecked over one exam," she said.

Stan Scott founded Rock the Diploma five years ago. Last semester, about 2,000 students across Alberta signed up for the privatecompany's exam prep course.

"People make the choice because they see this as a useful kind of supplementary tool and that's been going on forever in my opinion," he said.

School boards in Calgaryalso offer reviewcourses for diploma exams.

Elisabeth MacDonald, a vice-president withthe Calgary Catholic school board, says the board operates a variety of eveningcourses, including review courses for diplomaexams.

"We started in January 2010, and that was at the request of parents and students, because they really felt the pressure of the 50 per cent diploma exams and thought they needed something more to study," she said.

"Althoughthey're getting it from their teachers during the class, this is more of an intense study time, getting really ready for those exams that are high pressure for them," she said, adding "they cost $75 for the 12 hours, and that's basically just trying to meet our costs."

The demand for review courses and tutoringcould be reduced in the futureas the provincial diploma exams will count for only 30 per cent of a student's final mark beginning in the next school year.

However, Stan Scott of Rock the Diploma doesn't think it will have a huge impacton his business.

"We think that there will be an effect, but we really don't know how much. So, we're not terribly concerned."