Grading error discovered in Leaving Cert Applied examinations

Thousands of students received CAO offers today at Irish Universities. File picture. 

A grading error by the State Examination's Commission (SEC) in the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) Programme has affected the results of 144 students. 

The issue arose when a secondary school contacted the SEC when its students received lower than expected grades. 

The grading error occurred in relation to the Personal Reflection Task completed by the LCA students. 

In a statement, the SEC said this section of the exam uses results from the 2020 Calculated Grades as "an integral element of the result for 2021" and was not added correctly to the final result.  

Investigation launched

An investigation of the marking process confirmed that the error was confined solely to this area of the examination. 

"The circumstances which lead to this issue were quite unique, and could not have affected any other subject. 

"As part of its quality assurance, the SEC has undertaken further checking and testing across all results at both Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied programmes. 

"The SEC is satisfied that this issue is confined to the Personal Reflection Task in LCA," the statement said. 

Apologising to the affected schools and students, the SEC has said the error has now been addressed. 

The correction has led to an increase in the marks of the 144 affected students who received a higher final overall programme award. 

This year, 3,173 students took their final stage examinations in the two-year Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme. 

The results for LCA students differ from those of their Leaving Cert counterparts as they receive a single award rather than calculated grades as well as examination results. 

This year, 1,725 LCA distinctions were awarded.

Today thousands of students received CAO course offers at Third Level Education Institutes with a record number of courses exceeding 600 points required for entry.