Past Leaving Cert performance will not influence assessed grades

Minister for Education Norma Foley has indicated that Leaving Certificate students could be 'disbarred from a particular exam' if their parents try to lobby teachers on predicted grades. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Data on a school’s past Leaving Cert performance will not be used as part of the assessed grade process to be offered to this year’s Leaving Cert students.

While discussions remain ongoing regarding key aspects of the logistics behind this year’s examination process, historical school data on exam performance will not be included.

The use of historical school data, and its removal, proved contentious under the calculated grades process last year and led to concerns over "school profiling".

While it was acknowledged using this data would lead to more accurate final results, it was removed from the process here following uproar in the UK after thousands of students saw their results downgraded.

The removal of historical school data from the calculated grades process also led to a number of legal actions against the Department of Education, which are still currently before the High Court.

It is expected that the assessed grades model will run similarly to calculated grades, in that teachers will be expected to assess their students. 

This will then be subjected to an in-school alignment before being signed-off on by a school principal. 

Standardisation process

There will also be a standardisation process. An external procurement process is currently underway for an external contractor to oversee the process. 

Last year, the Department of Education did not go through the normal procurement process to recruit external contractor Polymetrika due to time constraints. A number of errors were later discovered in the standardisation process, which had led to almost 15,000 incorrect grades. 

Legislation is also currently being drafted that is expected to offer protections to teachers and schools. This is expected to include penalties in relation to canvassing or trying to influence teachers over accredited marks, according to Norma Foley, the Minister for Education.

She also indicated that Leaving Certificate students could be "disbarred from a particular exam" if their parents try to lobby teachers on predicted grades. 

We are looking at measures, where it would not be appropriate for any type of canvassing or any type of approaches to teachers being made.

The support of teachers will be crucial in plans for this year's students. Both second-level teachers' unions have voiced concerns about what is on offer. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) will issue an official response in the coming days, according to Ann Piggot, ASTI president. 

Speaking on Morning Ireland, Ms Piggot said the ASTI "did not want to put any more stress on students."  However, she said the union was concerned that students would not be motivated in the coming months if they opted for calculated grades. 

It will be a challenge for teachers to have two cohorts in the classroom – one group studying for the traditional Leaving Cert while the other group had opted for calculated grades, she added. 

Teachers' Union of Ireland (ASTI) president Martin Marjoram has said that assessed grades should have been a contingency plan, not an option for this year’s Leaving Cert. The union also shares the concern that some students will cease to engage in class.