Topical themes bring week two of exams to a close

FOR almost 20,000 Junior Certificate students, home economics brought week two of the exams to a close.

Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) subject spokesperson Maura McCaul said the higher and ordinary level papers were fair and had no difficult terminology.

She noted topical issues such as low-energy lighting, and said that questions on the male reproductive system at higher level and changes associated with puberty at ordinary level were welcome as they overlap with the science syllabus. Ms McCaul said a higher level consumer question about mobile phones was also relevant to students.

On behalf of the ASTI, Vincent McDonnell said higher level Junior Certificate German students got an exam in the morning which had accessible language and topical subjects. He said it allowed many of them to demonstrate their extra skills and that the listening test for students at both levels was very clear and contained no surprises.

However, Mr McDonnell considered the ordinary level exam challenging, particularly in the reading comprehension section. He said it expected students to know, for example, the word for an electrical socket, and many questions contained a lot of unnecessary hard reading.

Mr McDonnell also believed the paper was long and was too hard for most students at this level.

Another ASTI member, Pierce Purcell said the Leaving Certificate German listening section was fine, and included an interview, a telephone conversation and a news bulletin. He said higher level students with a reasonably good vocabulary and who studied their grammar well would have had no major problems.

Máire Ní Chiarba, a teacher at Coláiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire, Co Cork, felt however that both choices in the ‘development on a theme’ section at higher level exam were much too hard. One asked what students would do if they met wild animals in the city and another was about a taxi for animals.

The first examination of design and communication graphics, which has replaced technical drawing as a Leaving Certificate subject, was the focus of almost 6,500 students.

ASTI subject representative John O’Sullivan said the three-hour paper, which replaced two three-hour exams in previous years, was a welcome change for students, having accounted for up to 40% of their marks with an assessment of their practical coursework.

He said the higher and ordinary level exams were both similar in format and layout to sample papers from the State Examinations Commission and had good use of colour visuals.

Mr O’Sullivan said that abstract principles were examined in an applied manner by relating them to objects displayed in the papers, such as necklace easel for higher level students and a house entrance on the ordinary level exam.