High school education in Alberta

High school education in Alberta

If you live in Alberta, there are certain requirements to meet in order to graduate, whether studying in a private or charter school. Students with significant cognitive disability are awarded a Certificate of School Completion.

Certificate of High School Achievement

Students are awarded a Certificate of High School Achievement upon taking a certain number of courses with credit equivalents: career and life management, physical education 10, social studies 20 – 4 or 10 – 2, science 20 – 4 or 14, mathematics 20 – 4 or 10 – 3, and English language arts 30 – 4 or 20 – 2. To attain a certificate, students are also required to take 5 credits in one of the following – an authorized and locally acquired or developed course with an occupational focus; course in career and technology studies; or knowledge and employability course. Finally, students are also required to take courses such as special projects, green certificate course, work experience course, or workplace practicum course. The requirements for a high school diploma in Alberta are similar. Non-examination courses can be taken by mature students to earn senior credits. Senior students are required to complete courses that are offered by distance education providers, under extension programs, or in accredited schools. Mature students in Alberta are those aged 19 or older.

PAT

The Provincial Achievement Testing Program is designed to assess skills and knowledge in social studies, science, mathematics, and language arts. Students are required to meet the common achievement standards. Tests in different courses are administered annually, including tests in social studies, science, mathematics, French language arts, French, and English language arts. Students who are enrolled in French Immersion and Francophone programs are offered French translation of PAT. Learn more: https://www.education.alberta.ca/admin/testing/achievement.aspx

High School Equivalency Diploma

The High School Equivalency Diploma can be obtained in one of two ways: the General Education Development Tests (GED) or by accumulating course credits. Accumulated credits include courses in English language arts, science, mathematics, and additional high school courses. Students are also required to earn credits in the form of adult evening classes or under university extension divisions, institutes of technology, public colleges, or other recognized institutions or agencies. A certain number of credits must be earned based on the age of the student. Students aged 30 and over must earn 15 credits while those aged 21 – 24 must earn 5 credits only.

Career paths for young Albertans after high school

There are different career paths to look into after finishing high school in Alberta, from management and business to research and education, maintenance, engineering, construction, social work and counseling, and so on.

College Education and Career Paths

College education opens many doors, especially if you are looking for well-paid positions. Employees offer positions across industries and sectors, including healthcare, pharmacy, information technology, communications, capital management, and so on. Another option is to start your own business but you will need financing to buy machinery and equipment, tools of trade, inventory, etc. If you don't have enough money in your savings account, there are different financing options to explore. One is to borrow from friends or family to cover the start-up costs. Another option is to use a low-interest credit card to meet daily and operational expenses. Many big banks offer business cards with welcome amenities, promos, perks, and affordable rates but they are usually reserved for businesses with very good and stellar credit. A third option is to apply for a secured business loan and offer inventory, equipment, vehicle, or another asset of value as a guarantee of repayment or collateral. The type of financing to use depends on your business and niche.

Paying for College Education

College education is expensive, and many are forced to apply for student loans. In Canada, students pay about $6,000 per year on average or between $3,000 and $18,000, depending on the program, department, and university of choice. Many students apply for loans with private lenders and under government programs to pay tuition, room and board, and other expenses. With costs constantly on the rise, it is more and more difficult to stay out of debt. While government loans come with affordable rates and charges, stay away from predatory lenders and finance providers that charge very high interest rates. Payday lenders, for example, offer small, short-term loans with extremely high fees and interest charges. Some finance providers charge up to 300 percent in interest. Avoid bad credit loans as well because lenders offer higher than average rates and charges reasoning that you are a high-risk borrower. The problem is that high rates mean a lot of money paid in interest charges. Credit card debt is also to be avoided, especially if you have consumer, student, and other loans. Card issuers charge more in interest than other loan providers. If you are new to credit, there are other alternatives to look into, for example, loans by peer to peer lending networks and lines of credit. LOCs come with flexible repayment terms and lower interest rates than credit cards, which makes borrowing cheaper.

Alberta Launches a New Plan to Enhance Financial Literacy in High Schools

A pilot project in Alberta aims to teach students essential skills as part of a mandatory financial literacy course. Students will be taught important skills such as life and career planning, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and financial skills. The project is implemented in 28 schools in an effort to help children master life skills and make them more adaptable and knowledgeable.

Goals of the Literacy Project

One of the main reasons to launch the project is the fact that many young people have poor financial literacy when it comes to credit scores, credit cards, and borrowing in general. Students will master important skills such as saving, financial planning, and budgeting to equip them with credit and money knowledge. The goal is to teach high school children basic real-life skills through effective and engaging materials and ways.

In the face of challenges such as the recent financial crisis and changing times, it is important to ensure that young people are well prepared to deal with money issues.

The Importance of Financial Literacy

Financially illiterate people are more likely to make bad financial decisions like borrowing money from payday lenders or on high-interest credit cards. As your financial literacy improves you will be introduced to ways to better manage your money and borrowing and avoid debt traps.

Money or financial literacy is the key to success and encompasses debt, credit, and financial management. People with poor financial literacy often face investing and savings problems and piles of debt. They are also more at risk when it comes to poor financial decisions, for example, choosing financing products with unfavorable rates, repayment schedules, and terms. Money literacy has a profound impact on our daily decisions and choices, whether it is paying for college, saving money for home renovation, or buying a new vehicle. People with good money management skills know how to avoid debt and financial products with very high interest rates, penalties, etc. Those with good money skills have basic knowledge of credit balances, repayment terms and schedules, interest, balance transfers, and more. People with poor financial literacy, on the other hand, often use high-interest credit cards, apply with different lenders over a short period, and make other costly financial mistakes. They tend to have fair and poor credit scores and more limited opportunities to access credit. What is more, many of them believe that they are more knowledgeable than they in fact are. The fact that financial literacy is so important explains the decision to implement a course to better prepare students for the real world.

The new course will also help them master entrepreneurship skills, and students will learn how to develop a business plan. The course also includes digital literacy lessons that will teach young people how to create online job search profiles. Thus, the main goal of the course is to prepare students for real life by giving them the right tools to choose a career, start a business, spend wisely, save, and plan for the future. Good financial literacy will help them to avoid trouble and make responsible financial decisions for their children and families.