Fall in top Leaving Certificate marks

THE number of students getting the highest marks in the Leaving Certificate has fallen for the first time in almost a decade, official figures reveal.

Statistics from the Central Applications Office (CAO) suggest a possible reversal of improvement in grades obtained, which had led to claims of grade inflation and exams being “dumbed down” in recent years.

The 4,450 students who scored more than 500 out of 600 points with their results last month represent 8.5% — or just over one-in-12 — of the 52,144 students who sat the exams. A 500 points score would require average grades of at least four higher level B1s and two B2s.

Last year, the proportion with such scores was 8.7% and, although the decrease is small, the figure had been on the rise every year since 2000 when it was just 5.5%. The numbers have doubled from just 3.8% in 1995.

Similarly, the numbers of students getting at least 450 points fell from 18.4% last year to 17.8%, having also risen in each of the previous years from 13.4% in 2000.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has consistently rejected the idea of the Leaving Certificate being dumbed down and said the fact that the upward trend was not continuous backs this assertion.

“Most claims about grade inflation have not been substantiated, and if there are improvements in student performance then it has been more to do with curricular change,” said ASTI assistant general secretary Moira Leydon.

“There is no grade inflation but instead the exam system is now fairer to students,” she said.

Ms Leydon said exams are increasingly more closely linked to the syllabus, and the second component of a practical or oral exam in most subjects tests different sets of student skills and allows them to score marks in an area of strength.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) operates checks and balances at all stages of the exams process, including clear grading and marking schemes for examiners who correct papers.

The introduction of an appeals system and the availability of marking schemes to schools also allows teachers to help students interpret what is sought when they answer exam questions.

The points-scoring figures are based on information supplied by the SEC to the CAO for all 52,144 who sat the Leaving Certificate this year. Of those, 42,423 applied to the CAO for entry to third level courses.

The deadline for accepting second round offers closed on Wednesday evening, at which stage an extra 1,619 places had been taken up. This brought the number of students who have accepted college places this year to 41,635 out of a record 68,112 applicants.