Leaving Cert grades scheme set for changes

A move away from 14 different Leaving Certificate grades is likely on foot of recommendations about to be made by a Government advisory body.

The possibility of awarding students one of either eight or 11 grades instead of the current system is being examined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). It was a key recommendation of a wider initiative to reduce pressure on students to get top marks just to secure college places at the expense of proper understanding of a subject.

The system of sub-divided grades (A1, A2, B1, B2, B3, and so on) was introduced in 1992 to facilitate colleges which select students using the Central Applications Office (CAO) points system.

But it was identified as an obstacle to student learning in the 2011 Transitions conference, which aimed to find ways to reduce the race for points that dominates Leaving Certificate preparations.

Because of the narrow 5% gap between most sub-grades — and corresponding CAO points — students’ focus on scoring every possible mark in exams often drives work in classes.

A preliminary examination of the potential effects of alternative approaches to grading last year found marked differences between the impacts of two alternative grade scales.

The Education Research Centre at St Patrick’s College, Dublin, and the State Examinations Commission compared what would happen if 2012 results were hypothetically ‘re-graded’ and students given the same points as the scale currently used.

Under an 11-point scale, breaking each letter grade from A to D into two sub-grades (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E, F, No-Grade), 94% of students scored within 10 points of what they got on the current grading system. But when an eight-point scale was used (A1, A2, B, C, D, E, F, NG), the proportion who did so fell to 83%.

However, the number of students with the same scores as each other increased substantially if an eight-point scale is used. This would require a system under which colleges could differentiate between students with the same score applying for courses with limited places.

The NCCA will make a recommendation to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn on the most suitable solution, on foot of a more detailed report looking at how understandable any changes would be and whether the quality of students’ experiences would be improved by, for example, relieving pressure to perform in exams.

A related NCCA consultation with teachers on grading found the availability of Leaving Certificate marking schemes — blamed by some observers for a so-called dumbing down of the exam — means many feel pressure from students and parents to use them to drive what happens in class.

Rather than allow students rely on their own knowledge and way of wording answers, there is an expectation to coach students on how to frame answers to maximise performance.

The Irish Examiner reported last month that, despite a recommendation from the Transitions initiative that universities reduce the number of degrees available for first-year entry, they have increased or are largely unchanged in all except University College Dublin since 2011. The Irish Universities Association (IUA) is finalising a report on a sector-wide approach, the idea being to give students a choice of fewer broader-entry courses that allow them specialise after first-year, although such a move may add to the question of how to decide between students with the same points scores if there are more places in each course.