Ministry mislead students in wake of exam errors: Ombudsperson

British Columbia's ombudsperson says the Education Ministry has agreed to apologize and compensate students harmed by incorrect provincial exam results last year.

Jay Chalke says his investigation found the ministry's communication with students and their families to be misleading and in some cases inaccurate even after the errors were identified.

The ministry posted more than 18,000 incorrect exam scores, roughly half of which were lower than they should have been.

Grade 12 students intending to enter Canadian universities in the fall are often accepted based on marks that only reflect their first two terms of Grade 12 work, however that can change depending on final marks.

Chalke says in a news release the investigation found a series of unclear, inaccurate and misleading statements in the wake of the errors.

Over the course of several days, he says the ministry was slow to advise the public of the nature and scope of the tabulation errors and gave overly broad assurances that the situation was fully in-hand.