Exam probe delays students' grades

HUNDREDS of students are still without all their Junior Certificate grades as an investigation continues into possible copying of projects.

The Union of Secondary Students has criticised the Department of Education for the delay in the investigation, of which 41 schools were informed almost two months ago.

The Department was concerned about similarities in the projects of more than 650 students taking the Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) exam.

The similarities led officials to believe students may have e-mailed projects to each other.

The schools involved were asked to talk to the students concerned and respond to the issues before officials decided what action, if any, should be taken.

When this year's results were sent out seven weeks ago on September 11, the Department said it was anxious to complete its consideration of the issues raised as quickly as possible, once replies had been received from the schools concerned. However, the 656 students just over 1% of the 58,000 who sat the CSPE exam are still awaiting the outcome of the probe.

"The matter is not concluded yet, we are still in communication with the schools concerned," a department spokesperson said.

Daire Hickey, Union of Secondary Students president, said the delay will make people insecure and might even deter them from finishing school.

"Many of these students might be getting worried, especially if they feel they have done nothing wrong. There's a risk that this might put students off sitting the Leaving Cert because of the Department's incompetence," he said.

"The rest of the results were released in September and there's no reason why they shouldn't have their CSPE grades by now," said Mr Hickey.

The project reports are worth 60% of marks and are usually submitted along with the written exam when candidates sit the Junior Cert in June.

The examiners who corrected this year's projects noted a significant level of similarity in the work presented by candidates from a number of schools. In some cases, the projects submitted were identical in all respects.

The CSPE guidelines issued to schools stress that the project must be the individual's own work.

The examination rules state that students face losing all their exam grades if they are found guilty of copying, but other subject grades have already been given to the students concerned.