Education reform - School must prepare next generation

Radical changes are planned to replace the current Junior Certificate from 2017, when marking will include online and class tests on the basis of continuous assessment, which will consist of 40% of marks, and the final written examination worth the other 60%.

The changes will be introduced gradually for those beginning their first year of secondary school in 2014.

Such changes have been demanded for more than a decade. There has been political opposition to the cost of making the changes.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has already approved the proposed changes. In addition, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been broadly supportive of the changes. The teachers appear to be on board, if somewhat cautiously.

There is, of course, concern that such a radical overhaul should be introduced correctly. It must be properly resourced to ensure that no schools or students are disadvantaged by inadequate access to the technology required.

Such issues justify the long lead time. The public, especially parents, need to be assured of the merits of the new system. Thereafter, there will be less emphasis on the actual examination.

The NCCA emphasised the need for change by issuing a stark warning to Mr Quinn that standards of literacy and numeracy would continue to decline if the focus of the early years in secondary school is placed not on learning but rather on the Junior Certificate examination. The latter has become a dress rehearsal for the Leaving Certificate rather than focusing on the learning outcomes of children.

A study of more than 900 pupils at 12 schools produced stark findings, indicating that second year in secondary school was pivotal. The first year was mainly about settling in to the new school, and the third year was dominated by the exams.

For many girls, the second year was the one in which they knuckled down to learning, but there was evidence that as many as one in four students — especially boys from working-class backgrounds — disengaged from school during second year. This had knock-on implications for their chances and expectations right through the Leaving Certificate and beyond.

More emphasis must be put on the importance of the second year. It is vital that students should be encouraged to develop learning habits during that year.

Whereas in the industrial age most were hired for their physical attributes, in the information age most people will be hired for their mental abilities.

The real challenge is for educational authorities to devise an appropriate curriculum and ensure it is implemented in a way that interests pupils so that second year does not continue as a point of disengagement for so many. Learning should be an exciting experience.

School should become more a positive and exciting place for students. They are the future generation of college students and graduates. They must be better equipped for the uncertainty and rapid changes of the 21st century.