History to repeat itself as teachers raise concerns over use of AI in Leaving Cert

Reform comes with a burden for teachers to authenticate that the additional assessment components have been done by students

Those who have argued for Leaving Cert reform have pointed to the need to move away from rote-learning, and to place a higher emphasis on skills not as easily demonstrated through a written exam. File photo: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

“The Leaving Certificate, while ‘brutally fair’, is a high stakes examination. Much depends on one day,” one anonymous student, a girl in a non-disadvantaged school, told researchers in the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) who were tasked with gathering and analyzing students, teachers and parents’ views on the senior cycle.

“The large number of students who undertake grinds in multiple subjects is giving rise to ‘burn out’ and mental health problems,” she explained.