Software issues cost Leaving Cert pupils marks

STUDENTS who took the first Leaving Certificate exam in a new design subject lost marks because of problems with software and loading projects onto CDs.

The difficulties are outlined in a chief examiner’s report on the first examination last June of design and communication graphics (DCG), which replaced technical drawing as a Leaving Certificate subject.

On a positive note, it attracted 6,204 entrants, 13% more students than took the final technical drawing exam in 2008 and almost 1,000 more than in 2007.

But the report noted difficulties around the student assignment, worth 40% of total marks with the remainder going for the written exam.

The brief for the student assignment was issued to schools in November 2008 and work had to be completed last March.

It required students to use computer-aided design (CAD) to show a remote control in the case of ordinary level students and a docking station for an MP3 player at higher level. The work was to be submitted on a CD and use a specified software package.

But the examiner’s report published by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) said that, in a number of instances the CDs submitted were blank or did not contain the required CAD files, meaning they could not be assessed. Around 265 (12.7%) of almost 2,100.

“It is important that all candidates check their disk before submission to ensure that all necessary files are properly saved. The DCG syllabus clearly identifies the creation of folders and saving of files to designated locations as a key skill and, in this instance, the CD is such a location,” it said.

More than 60 disks were damaged in transit, though the report said that, fortunately, the students’ work was backed up on their schools’ IT system and was forwarded to the SEC for marking.

The chief examiner suggested that fixing the CD to one corner of the A3 paper portfolio submitted at the same time could reduce the chances of this happening.

The proportion of ordinary level candidates awarded an A fell from 12.5% in the 2008 technical drawing exam to 6.6% while the 12.7% scoring a higher level A was just slightly lower than the previous two years.