Joseki Blog

Notes on exam prep, Alberta curriculum, and what actually helps.

2027-02-08

How a study tool knows where you're weak

The claim is that it knows your weak areas better than you do. Here's the mechanism, and why a wrong answer is more informative than a right one.

2027-02-01

Studying with ADHD or executive function difficulties

Starting, sequencing and finishing are the hard parts, not the thinking. Practical structure that works with how the brain actually operates.

2027-01-25

Running out of time on tests

Knowing the material and finishing the paper are different skills. Where the minutes actually go, and how to practise the one that's missing.

2027-01-18

Choosing next year's courses without closing doors

Alberta course selection decides prerequisites years out. How the streams work, what's reversible, and what to ask before signing the form.

2027-01-11

Grade 9 is where the habits get set

The Grade 9 content isn't the hard part. Managing five courses, real deadlines and nobody chasing you is — and that's the part that carries.

2027-01-04

Getting from 78 to 90

Going from failing to passing and going from good to excellent are different problems. What actually separates a 78 from a 90.

2026-12-28

When the workload is the problem

Some students aren't struggling with the material — they're drowning in the volume. What actually reduces the load, and when it's more than workload.

2026-12-21

“I don't remember any of this”

Your child asks for help with Math 30-1 and you last saw it in 1998. What you can still do — and what nobody should expect you to.

2026-12-14

Finding the mistake before the teacher does

Marks come back a week later, on work you've already stopped thinking about. Checking an assignment before it's handed in changes what the mistake is worth.

2026-11-02

Is AI doing your kid's homework? Here's how you'd actually know

You probably can't tell from the marks — that's the problem. One pattern gives it away, and there's a version of the conversation that doesn't end in a fight.

2026-10-26

If you don't know the words, you can't understand the question

A student who half-knows the terms spends the exam translating instead of thinking. Vocabulary isn't the easy part of a course — it's the gate.

2026-10-19

Studying everything is how you run out of time

Most study plans start at page one and stop when time runs out — which means the weak spots get the least attention. Build it backwards instead.

2026-10-12

Your kid can't see their own week

Most high schoolers have no view of their own week. Things arrive one at a time and get handled in a panic — and the parent becomes the calendar.

2026-10-05

The phone doesn't have to buzz to cost you

Face down and silent still isn't off. What the research says about phones during study time — including the part that didn't replicate.

2026-09-28

The cheapest fifteen marks in high school

Catching three errors on a 20-question exam is the difference between 75% and 90%. No new material required. So why does almost nobody do it?

2026-09-21

"I didn't know where to start" — the most expensive sentence in high school math

A blank answer scores zero. A wrong first move can still score. Here's why the opening step is worth more marks than most students realise.

2026-09-14

The blank page is a planning problem, not a writing problem

Two hours to write an essay, and forty minutes go to staring at nothing. The staring isn't a writing problem — it's an unplanned essay. Here's the fix.

2026-09-07

The report card came back lower than expected. Now what?

First report cards are out. Before the effort conversation, there are four better questions — and for Grade 12 there's a deadline attached.

2026-08-31

Command words: what determine, justify and evaluate actually ask for in Alberta courses

Alberta bolds certain words in diploma questions on purpose. Here's what determine, justify, evaluate and compare actually require — and what markers say goes wrong.

2026-08-24

What a 62 doesn't tell you

A mark tells you there's a problem. It doesn't tell you which one. Four things go wrong in high school courses, and three of them aren't fixed by studying more.

2026-07-18

Homeschooling in Alberta? Here's What the Diploma Exam Actually Means for the Final Grade

For Alberta home-educated students, the Grade 12 diploma exam can count for 100% of the final course mark. Here's how that actually works.

2026-07-17

Alberta's Homeschool Funding Already Covers Exam Prep Like This

Alberta leads Canada in homeschooling, and the province's SOLO funding was built for exactly this kind of resource.