Achievement Record

The achievement record issued by MELS to students in general education in the youth sector, in general education in the adult sector and in vocational training contains important information.

In addition to the upper section reserved for identification information about the student, the achievement record is divided into two columns.

The left-hand column provides information about the missing requirements for obtaining a diploma and about the diplomas granted.

Requirements for obtaining a Secondary School Diploma (SSD) in general education in the youth sector (J5 certification system)

These standards have been in force since May 1, 2010.

The pass mark for each course is 60%. A Secondary School Diploma is awarded to a student who has obtained at least 54 credits in Secondary IV and V, at least 20 of which are in Secondary V or vocational training.

In addition, the student must pass the following courses: 

• Secondary V language of instruction
• Secondary IV Mathematics
• Secondary V second language
• Secondary IV Science and Technology or Applied Science and Technology
• Secondary IV History and Citizenship Education
• Secondary IV Arts Education
• Secondary V Ethics and Religious Culture or Physical Education and Health

An example

Here is an example of what might be found on a Secondary IV student’s achievement record:

Credits earned with respect to the extra requirements for a Secondary School Diploma (J5 certification system)
Language of instruction: 0/6
Second language: 0/4
Secondary IV History and Citizenship Education: 0/4
Secondary V ERC or PEH: 0/2
Secondary IV or Secondary V CR (54 cr): 32/54
Secondary V CR (20 cr): 0/20

In this example, the student has not yet obtained his/her six credits in Secondary V language of instruction, four credits in Secondary V second language, four credits in Secondary IV History and Citizenship Education and two credits in Secondary V Ethics and Religious Culture or Physical Education and Health. 

On the other hand, the student has earned 32 of the 54 credits required to obtain his/her Secondary School Diploma. Finally, as this student is in Secondary IV, he/she has not yet obtained any of the required 20 credits at the Secondary V level. 

We also see that Secondary IV Mathematics, Science and Arts Education are missing from the list. This means that these courses have already been passed and the required credits have been obtained. Each time a requirement is met, it disappears from the left-hand column of the achievement record. 

Requirements for obtaining a Secondary School Diploma (SSD) in general education in the adult sector (A3 certification system)

These standards have been in force since July 1, 2010.

The pass mark is 60% for courses created since 1989 and 50% for certain courses that were created before that date. A Secondary School Diploma is awarded to an adult learner who has obtained at least 54 credits in Secondary IV and V, at least 20 of which are in Secondary V.

These 54 credits must include:

• 12 credits in language of instruction, at least 6 of which were obtained in Secondary V
• 8 credits in second language, at least 4 of which were obtained in Secondary V
• 4 Secondary IV or V credits in Social Sciences
• 8 Secondary IV or V credits in Mathematics, Science and Technology, at least 4 of which are in Mathematics 

The number of credits obtained for language of instruction and second language programs may not exceed 36. The adult learner must also have earned at least one credit in a Secondary IV or V course offered by an adult education centre since July 1, 2010.

Diploma awarded

Once a diploma has been awarded, a statement to that effect appears lower down on the page, under the block of credits earned. This statement confirms that a diploma has been awarded in general education in the youth sector, in general education in the adult sector or in vocational training. The date indicated is the date the diploma was awarded. 

If this statement does not appear on the achievement record, the requirements for obtaining a diploma have not been met; therefore no diploma has been awarded.

The right-hand column provides information on the results obtained by the student in his/her courses.

General education in the youth sector and general education in the adult sector

The table contains eight columns with the following headings:

• Course code (CODE)
• Title
• Credits (CR)
• Result
• Year
• Month
• Quintile rank (R/5) - youth sector only
• Percentile rank (CEN) - youth sector only

Course code and component code

In general education in the youth sector, the code is a numeric one, composed of six numbers.

In general education in the adult sector, the code is alphanumeric, composed of three letters and five numbers.

Title

The title of each course is indicated here.

Credits

The number of credits awarded to the student for passing the course is given.

Result

This is the result obtained by the student, out of a total of 100. In addition, in certain cases, codes may also be used:

• EQU — Pass in an equivalent course
• ACC — Pass awarded for a course at a lower level subsequent to the passing of the same course at a higher level
• XMT — Exemption from passing a course or part of a course.
• ABS — Means that the student was absent when the ministerial examination was administered
• ECH — Means that the student has failed the course
• ANN — Means that the examination was cancelled for this student
• INC — Means that a result is missing for part of a course

Year and month

In general education in the youth sector, indicate the year and month that the student obtained the result.

In general education in the adult sector, indicate the year and month in which the examination was administered to the adult learner.

Quintile rank (R/5)

The quintile rank is used only in general education in the youth sector. It refers to the result in a course that was completely evaluated by the teacher. The quintile rank (R/5) enables a piece of data to be situated in relation to the rest of the sample, in this case, the student’s result in relation to the rest of his/her group.

The students’ results are divided into five subgroups. A quintile rank of 1 indicates that the result falls within the subgroup with the highest results. A quintile rank of 5 indicates that the result falls within the subgroup with the lowest results.

Percentile rank (CEN) 

The percentile rank is used only in general education in the youth sector. It is used when a ministerial examination is used to evaluate a course. The percentile rank is calculated based partly on the moderated school mark and partly on the mark on the ministerial examination, converted, if necessary. The percentile rank is the percentage of Québec students who obtained a lower result for the course. Therefore, a percentile rank of 85 indicates that 85% of the students in the province obtained a result lower than that of the particular student.

Vocational training

In vocational training, the table has six columns, which are:

• Course code (CODE)
• Title
• Credit (CR)
• Result
• Year
• Month

Course code

This is a numeric code, composed of six numbers, that identifies each course.

Title

The title of each course is indicated here.

Credits

The number of credits awarded to the student for passing the course is given.

Result

The codes that could be used in the Results column are as follows.

• SUC — Pass
• EQU — Pass in an equivalent course
• XMT — Exemption from passing a course or part of a course.
• ABS — Means that the student was absent when the ministerial examination was administered
• ECH — Means that the student has failed a ministerial examination
• INC — Means that a result is missing for part of a course

Year and month

Indicate the year and month in which the examination was administered to the student.