Course choices influenced by race for CAO points

THE centrality of the points system to how students select college courses and the level at which they study exam subjects has been highlighted by students who took part in research by the ESRI.

Their interviews with sixth years aiming for third-level education showed that course choices were heavily influenced by the students’ ability to get certain grades in the Leaving Certificate and obtain enough CAO points to access a course.

Most students chose courses with points they felt they could realistically attain, and others picked courses or colleges simply because they knew the points would be low.