It always seems like such a good idea on paper. Last year, as a lower mainland newcomer, I missed the cultural significance of the annual Sun Run. So this April, I was determined not to be left behind! Now let's be clear, in high school I was always that kid who was timed with an hour glass rather than a stop watch, and I can testify from experience, that unlike in the fable, in the real life of track and field, "slow and steady" never wins the race! I had a fair amount of success in international rowing (after all, you got to sit!) but the part of that regimen that I hated the most was the post-workout run!

Having said all of that, it seems that in spite of my history, I was lured over the past decade by the enticing weather and beautiful landscapes of both Bermuda and North Vancouver, and running became a bit of a hobby for me. I gradually evolved as a non-competitive (that is never in real competition as a top finisher) competitive runner. My biggest asset was my age which kept propelling me into less and less populated categories (Master, Senior Master, Over the hill, etc.) The peak of my running career in Bermuda was to finish second in my age class in a five mile sprint, winning a gift certificate that was enough to buy a pair of socks at the local running store. Finally I had found a niche where I could finish more or less successfully, albeit as a member of a gradually shrinking group!

Running in North Vancouver has been quite a culture shock after Bermuda. I have traded long runs right from my front door along a mildly rolling Bermuda sea coast, for the steep climbs and pounding downhills of the North Shore. Add to that the fact that the number of participants in this week's Sun Run was greater than the entire adult population of Bermuda, and you can appreciate how much my running life has changed! 

The Sun Run, for me this year, was a community effort. Led by the enthusiastic leadership of our phys-ed teacher Jackie De Santis, KGMS put together an eclectic team of teachers, students and parents to make our mark on the sea of humanity lined up patiently in a chilly and occasionally drizzly Sunday morning on West Georgia Street. It's nice running as part of a group (although I didn't see any of them from start to finish), at least you know that there is someone who can give your name to the paramedics! And I am sure that the more than half-century range in our ages made us one of the most demographically diverse teams on the route!

The race itself is a bit of a blur - they usually are - I remember sections of pavement, and thousands of backs, but if you want to take a scenic tour of downtown, there are definitely better ways! My time was respectable (in spite of the fact that I placed about 12,000th!) and I was given boost after boost from a host of total strangers who cheered, and played, and danced along the route.

So what were my "take-aways" from the experience? I was reminded, once again, of the significance of adequate (or inadequate!) preparation for every challenge that you take on. I got the opportunity to share in the camaraderie of collective accomplishment, and to see many of our students surprise themselves with what they could do if they put their minds to it. I felt that satisfaction of pushing my limits and of trying something new and challenging. And I was amazed, as always, at the generosity of spirit that characterizes our community; a spirit that stands in the rain and cold to support friends and family, and cheers on strangers mile after mile along the route.

Who could ask for a greater race result than that?

Every part of Canada has its own unique signs of spring. Over the years I have celebrated the appearance of the light green leaves on the tree branches in Toronto; the dismantling of "tempos" in Montreal; and now, in North Vancouver, the need to cut my lawn for the second time, in early April. But, no matter where you live, Spring also brings the annual lament about the death of academic standards, grade inflation in schools, and the struggle for universities to sift through the high school transcripts of thousands of potential students to determine who is worthy of admission. The solution proffered is always a simple one, a return to compulsory standardized examinations in every subject, in every school, in every province.Someone always steps forward to perpetuate this myth, and so today's Globe and Mail did not disappoint. Exams will stop grade inflation!, a story's headline declared. The author, a product of the old "departmental" examinations which ended in Ontario in the late 1960s, decried the decline in standards that was his perceived outcome of the end of these rigorous tests of student "knowledge". He states:

With no external standards, it is impossible to compare the marks of students in different schools, and universities are flying blind when it comes to admissions. The result is that many woefully-unprepared students gain university admittance only to flunk out by Christmas or to see their first-year marks drop by more than 10 per cent. Not only is this hard on the students financially, it also crushes their spirits. 

Now, before I go further, I must confess that Departmental Exams were abolished in Ontario when I was in Grade 11 . Two years later when I was accepted at the University of Toronto, there was no "objective" measure of my level of achievement, they simply had to believe my school. Two undergraduate, and two post-graduate degrees later I thought that I was safe, until I was "outed" in the Globe this morning as a charter member of that slacker cohort who skated on into university without my appropriate baptism by fire.
We have come a long way in educating students in the more than four decades that have passed since I graduated from high school. Today's learners exhibit higher level thinking and problem-solving skills than my peers ever did, they are masters at sifting through a variety of data and viewpoints (not just memorizing the approved textbook), and they are risk takers and innovative thinkers. Our assessment techniques are varied and reflect the strengths and skills of our students. Exams are still a part of the mix, but just a part.

Has there been grade inflation? Of course there has. Does it matter? Not really. Grades have become a debased currency. Everyone knows it. That is why innovative institutions ask for portfolios, conduct student interviews, check references and move beyond numbers in their admissions processes. It takes time, and effort, and it is more than worth it, but so far these schools are the exceptions, not the rule. So what about the vast majority of post-secondary institutions? How can they protect themselves against the hordes of "unprepared" students who are pounding at their gates?

To begin with, let's remember that it is not the job of secondary schools to do admissions screening for post-secondary institutions. They have a much broader and more meaningful mandate. It is up to the universities and colleges to identify students who are a good fit with their programmes and services. Complaining that the current high school grading system isn't working for them, is a cop-out and one that sometimes masks the fact that universities over-enrol with an expectation that a certain percentage of students will fail and drop out. The institutions complain, but it is the students who suffer.

Is there a solution? Of course there is. Many countries (and professions) have turned the process on its head. Rather than depending on the standards of another level of schooling to make their decision, they set their entrance exams based upon the standards and expectations of their own institutions. University entrance exams are designed to identify students who are a good match for a particular college or programme - they are a far better predictor of future success than a wide-net admissions process. Entrance exams are common throughout society. You can get a law degree, but you must pass entrance bar exams to practice the profession; Ministries of Transport give you a driver's exam for a license - it is your entrance test for driving - not your exit exam from a driving school. People write real estate exams; CA exams; Superintendent's exams; language proficiency exams; and even citizenship exams.

Let's face it. We all know what exams really are. They are not particularly accurate ways to demonstrate knowledge or skills, they are hurdles to be jumped. In the second decade of the 21st century, we know that standardized exams are just a simple screening device. Those who are good at them, get through; and, those who have a different learning style or skill set, don't.

So, next Spring, could we please stop talking about exams as the great leveller and spend our time finding more creative and inclusive ways to measure student potential? Let's take the pressure off of kids, and put it on institutions to demonstrate how effective they can be in identifying attributes for student success. And please, let's put the annual examination navel-gazing to rest!