Biology paper bonus for more than 40 students

MORE than 40 students have been given a late offer of a college place after hundreds of students had their Leaving Certificate biology results upgraded because the possible answers to a question worth less than 1% of the total marks were widened.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) rechecked the exam papers of almost 1,900 of the 20,100 higher level biology candidates after one parent lodged an appeal. In the re-check, a pattern emerged from the remarking of appealed grades, and have now given a higher grade to 621 students.

The question around which the concerns were raised asked students for a definition of the word “predation”, for three marks out of the 400 total marks on the paper. In the original marking scheme on which grades were awarded in August, the accepted answer was “Killing (or catching) and eating another animal”.

However, following an objection from a parent, it was decided that a wider definition should have been accepted, which reads: “Killing (or catching) and eating an animal (or an organism, or prey) or Killing (or catching) an animal (or an organism, or prey) for food.”

The SEC decided to go back over the papers of all candidates who were within three marks of the next highest grade. The 621 candidates who were upgraded are in addition to 289 people who already had their higher level biology upgraded earlier this month after they had lodged an appeal, of whom 56 got an upgrade as a result of the broader answer being accepted.

“For 44 of those who did not appeal their biology result but who have got an upgrade because of our quality assurance process, they should have heard by now from the third-level college where the improved grade entitles them to a place they had applied for,” an SEC spokesperson said.

The details of the upgrades were received by the students’ schools yesterday, but the impact is most significant for those whose college ambitions are affected. As well as improving their points scores, the upgrades notified to the Central Applications Office (CAO) could also entitle a student to a course for which they already had enough points but for which they did not have a minimum grade needed in biology.

In small numbers of cases where it might be too late for students to switch courses or begin the course they have now been offered, colleges will offer them a place next year without having to pay any registration fees if they had already done so on a course this autumn.

The State Exams Commission apologised to hundreds of students for an error in setting a question for this year’s Leaving Certificate Biology Higher Level exam.