Chief scientific adviser backs bonus points for Leaving Certificate maths

THE Government’s chief scientific adviser has backed plans to give Leaving Certificate students extra college entry points for grades in higher level maths.

With a record low number of students – about one-in-six – expected to take the honours papers next Friday and Monday, moves to adopt the plan favoured by Education Minister Mary Coughlan are being considered by college chiefs.

Dr Patrick Cunningham said he favours the proposal and not just as a way of improving student interest in maths as a distinct subject for college courses. “If we get a good response to bonus points, you might have 25% [taking higher level] so we’re a long way from... overdoing it.

“If they get the competence in maths, even if they go off and become solicitors or something else, it will enrich their lives in ways that other subjects won’t. It increases their confidence for the technology in the world we live in now,” Dr Cunningham said.

Some 730 second-level schools will host exam centres where most of the 55,783 students entered to sit the Leaving Certificate will begin their exams tomorrow. A further 3,418 candidates have been registered for the Leaving Certificate Applied and 57,133 students are set to take Junior Cert exams. Just 10,516 of the 53,559 students predicted to take Leaving Certificate maths indicated to the State Examinations Commission earlier this year that they intend to attempt the higher level papers, or 19.6% compared with 19.9% a year ago.

However, every year up to 1,500 students decide instead to take an ordinary level paper at exam time and a record low of just 16.2% of maths candidates sat higher level in 2009.

While Ms Coughlan has urged third-level bosses to consider the bonus points scheme – already in use by some institutions for certain degrees – it will be a matter for each to decide if such recognition will be given for honours maths when students are selected.

However, although representatives of the university and institute of technology sectors have indicated their support for the move, it could be 2013 before school leavers will have the lure of earning bonus points. The Government, educationalists and employers in the science, engineering and related industries will be keenly interested in the results of 1,800 students set to sit next Monday’s second Leaving Certificate maths paper. They are taking exams at the 24 schools which have piloted a new maths programme for the last two years, designed to improve results and increase student interest by making the subject more applicable to everyday life.

Project Maths is being phased in at all schools from next autumn and the revised syllabus will be examined nationwide in the 2012 Leaving Cert and the following year’s Junior Cert.