No major concerns over predictability of exams

The final area of reform promised by Ruairi Quinn was around predictability in Leaving Certificate exams which — along with narrow grade bands mostly sep-arated by just 5% — it had been suggested promotes rote learning and “teaching to the test” in schools instead of focusing on the curriculum.

But a progress report out today says researchers at Oxford University and Queen’s University Belfast examining the issue for the State Examinations Commission have not found predictability to be a major issue of concern, though some elements of problematic predictability were identified.

“However, the research indicates that no subject was considered to be very problematically predictable overall by the subject specialists, the teachers or the students,” it said.