Call for Government to urgently agree on timeframe for review of CAO points system

Paul Crone of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals said while school curricula had moved to a “student-centred approach”, the “elephant in the room has been how that assessment has been used”.

Secondary-level advocates have called for the Government to urgently agree a timeframe for a review of the CAO points system, saying that what is currently in place amounts to “the tail wagging the dog”.

Representative groups for students, parents, and schools said the Government’s progress on reform of the college places system has been poor to date, despite a commitment to a review being included in the initial programme for government.

Asked how the Government could improve on its performance on the issue, Dr Siobhan O’Reilly, senior education officer with the Children’s Rights Alliance, said: “I think we would be hoping that we see more progress this year.

“We didn’t see enough progress last year, and we didn’t see terms of reference for the review.”

Aine Lynch, chief executive of the National Parents’ Council, added: “We’d also like to see a timeline that’s going to be committed to.”

At an event calling for a review of the system, timed to coincide with the issuance of first round CAO offers yesterday, some ideas of how the system could be reformed were put forward.

Ms Lynch said “it is not so much the points, it is what they are measuring currently versus what they need to measure” that is the problem.

She gave the example of “very human” occupations such as teaching and nursing.

“When you look at the actual work that a teacher or a nurse does, they’re... all about communication and human connections, which points don’t even look at in any way, shape, or form,” she said.

“We’re not looking at the best way of assessing whether students are fit for courses and professions.”

Paul Crone of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals said while school curricula had moved to a “student-centred approach”, the “elephant in the room has been how that assessment has been used”.

“School leaders would view it as very much the tail is wagging the dog,” he said.

Mr Crone described the importance of “matriculation requirements”.

“If you want to be an engineer, the bonus points should be in physics or maths,” he said.

“At the moment, they’re only in maths. If you want to be a doctor, they should be biology or chemistry. If you want to be a journalist, they should be in English.”