Results in maths add up to joy for business

Business leaders have welcomed the improved maths results being collected by almost 56,000 Leaving Certificate students this morning.

The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, one of the loudest campaigners for maths education reform, suggested the scores are a direct result of bonus points for higher-level maths.

Following Government requests, colleges are offering 25 extra CAO points for any student with a D3 or better in higher-level maths. Figures from the State Examinations Commission (SEC) show the numbers who took higher level rose by almost 3,000 to 11,131 up from just 15.8% of last year’s maths students.

American Chamber’s Peter O’Neill suggested further changes by making the inclusion of maths results compulsory as one of the six subjects to be counted for CAO points for entry to engineering, science, or other courses with a maths foundation.

The organisation also wants science to be compulsory for all Junior Certificate students.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants said it is encouraged by increased numbers taking higher level maths. However, it was surprised not to have seen a corresponding increase in the number of As, which were achieved by 9.5% of students, compared with 13.4% last year.

The SEC said a similar number of students as last year got A grades but they were a smaller proportion of the bigger group who chose higher level. There was a corresponding fall in the proportion of As awarded in ordinary level maths, as many who might have achieved higher in the exam opted for higher level.

There were honours (A, B or C grades) for 83% of higher-level students, up from less than 81% a year ago. Despite concerns that some students opting for higher level might struggle, the 2.3% who failed was less than in the past two years.

The SEC also attributes the increased all-round performance in maths to the new Project Maths syllabus, as well as to the attraction of CAO bonus points. While students at the 24 schools that piloted Project Maths were examined on the entire new course, all other candidates had questions on maths paper 2 on two of the five strands.

Those exam elements have been heavily criticised, with some teachers claiming it was one of the toughest Leaving Certificate maths papers ever set. However, while these and some third-level academics are concerned about the impact on the ability of students to handle tougher maths needed in some degrees, the grades offer encouragement to backers of the syllabus.

Fine Gael TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor claimed that changes were made to the marking scheme to disguise the difficulty big numbers of students faced with some Project Maths questions. However, the SEC said last night that the marking scheme in most subjects was not finalised until a random sample of students’ papers were marked, and that changes may occur at a later stage of the marking process.

Ordinary-level maths remains the most popular option, with the almost 34,000 who took those exams making up just over two-thirds of all maths students. However, as in previous years, almost 10% only managed an E, F or No-Grade. These 3,200-plus students and the 5,395 who opted for foundation-level maths may be ineligible for many college courses, although some institutions award CAO points for foundation level.

At the 24 pilot Project Maths schools, 22.5% of the 1,957 students took the higher-level exams, just slightly higher than the national figure. Of these, 79% got an honours grade, less than the national total of 83.3%.

However, there were more honours than nationally among the 1,341 students at the pilot schools opting for ordinary-level maths, secured by just over three-quarters of them compared to nearly two-thirds of maths students at all schools.

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