Leaving Cert has many advantages

THE current Leaving Cert system has many flaws but I agree with Micheál Ó Fearghail (Letters, August 20) that repeating the experience of other countries, which proved the failure of continuous assessment, is not the way to go.

The continuous assessment system that the present Minister for Education has proposed has even more fundamental flaws than the Leaving Cert as currently operated.

The current Leaving Cert has many advantages. It is externally marked and fair to all. It is not subjective. It is independent and anonymous. It is, therefore, immune to manipulation. It requires diligence and hard work on behalf of the student to be successful.

As it is carried out by the school instead of anonymously, continuous assessment is not fair to all. It is subjective.

It is neither independent nor anonymous. It is, therefore, wide open to manipulation.

Anthony Leavy

Dublin 13