Pushed Through: Why Some Students Are Not Graduating with a Dogwood

Across B.C., countless students are being quietly pushed through the education system, not because they’re thriving but because they’re surviving. Year after year, they move ahead without the supports, accommodations, or targeted interventions they need. Many have undiagnosed learning disabilities that go unrecognized until the gaps are too large to ignore. Without proper identification, these students are denied the assessments, funding, and tailored instruction that could have made the difference between success and struggle.

On paper, they advance.
In reality, they fall further behind.

By middle school, the cracks start to show. A student who was “managing” is now struggling to keep up with grade-level content. Their self-esteem drops, and the frustration builds. The message from the school often shifts: “They can’t do the work, even with adaptations.” Soon after comes the suggestion of a modified program or replacement curriculum, decisions that can permanently remove them from the path to a Dogwood Diploma.

According to the Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and Guidelines, adaptations are “teaching and assessment strategies especially designed to accommodate a student’s needs so they can achieve the learning outcomes of the subject or course.” A modified program, on the other hand, is used when “instructional and assessment-related decisions are made to address a student’s educational needs that consist of individualized learning goals as opposed to provincial learning outcomes.”

In other words, adaptations help students access the curriculum, while modifications change it altogether.

But when students are pushed along year after year without the proper accommodations or interventions, we set them up to fail. By Grade 10, schools often shift from supporting students toward excusing responsibility, recommending modified programs not because students can’t learn, but because the system has not supported them to do so for years.

Students on a modified program are assessed on their Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals rather than provincial standards and will receive an Evergreen Certificate when they leave high school. The Evergreen Certificate is not a graduation credential. It recognizes completion of personal learning goals outlined in an IEP. Not all students with disabilities should be in an Evergreen program, and this decision should never be made before Grade 10 or without the informed consent of parents or guardians.

All students in B.C., whether or not they are working toward graduation, are entitled to an education program. For those pursuing an Evergreen, that program should include meaningful learning goals, clear strategies for achieving them, and ongoing monitoring and consultation with parents and students. But far too often, when students reach Grade 10, schools take the easier route by convincing parents that the Evergreen path is more suitable for their child. In doing so, they let themselves off the hook and excuse the years of unsupported learning, missed assessments, and unmet needs that led to this point.

If your child’s school is suggesting a modified program or Evergreen Certificate, pause and ask questions. Has your child received the accommodations and supports they are legally entitled to under the BC Human Rights Code? Has an assessment been completed to identify possible learning disabilities or processing challenges? Were adaptations and evidence-based interventions actually provided and documented? Has anyone explained the long-term impact of this decision on your child’s future opportunities and learning pathway?

These are not just administrative choices. They are life-altering decisions. Once a student is placed on a modified path, returning to the Dogwood route is difficult.

We must stop confusing advancement with inclusion. Pushing students through without identifying or addressing their needs is not compassion, it is neglect. True inclusion means ensuring every student has the opportunity to learn at their level, with the right supports in place before the system decides they can’t.

Because being “pushed through” is not progress. It is a warning sign.