Staff cuts contributed to high number of Leaving Certificate exam paper errors

Significant staffing cuts contributed to the large number of mistakes in this year’s Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate exam papers, the State Examinations Commission has said.

While it said the number of mistakes was “unacceptably high” and human errors were the reason, the SEC detailed how staffing cuts and changes weakened its oversight systems and said this was a significant factor.

It said 40% of the staff in its examination and assessment division had departed over the last three years, mostly due to incentivised schemes introduced as part of the Government’s public service reform drive.

SEC said such a “rapid and unplanned” departure had meant 30% of the managers tasked with exam preparation had only been recruited in the last 12 months “with a significant consequential loss of corporate memory and critical experience”.

“The challenges associated with the changes in staffing had been identified in advance of this year’s examinations and strategies to mitigate risk were put in place,” it said. “However, the unprecedented level of change made it difficult to ensure that risk was fully eliminated.”

In all, there were 11 errors in Junior and Leaving Certificate papers, with maths causing the most controversy, not least in the higher-level exam, estimated to have affected 520 students.

The State Examinations Commission pointed out that this year, the sole examinations and assessment manager (EAM) for maths and one full-time deputy chief examiner were between them responsible for signing off 92 examination papers, albeit with the assistance of a number of setters. That EAM was also responsible for representing SEC on all Project Maths-related committees and handling all correspondence on maths and project maths for SEC.

“In contrast, for example, in 2007, before Project Maths was introduced, the two full-time experienced EAMs for mathematics were handling, between them, an average of 31 examination papers, all of which were well established and stable, and with the benefit of experienced and knowledgeable drafters and setters,” the commission’s report said.

Nonetheless, the report revealed that at least four people reviewed the higher-level maths question before it made it onto students’ desks on exam day.

The commission said the circumstances which applied to 2013 were unlikely to be repeated as the level of unplanned staff change should not reoccur and the roll-out of Project Maths is stabilising, with a reducing number of exam papers required.