Choice for Leaving Cert students as the Junior Cert is cancelled
The Leaving Certificate students of 2021 have been given the option of a calculated grade or a written exam in each subject, while this year’s Junior Certificate exams are now cancelled.
With much unease amongst students, parents and teachers to date due to the lack of early clarity on this year’s state exams, the Cabinet Education Sub-Committee signed off on the proposal on Wednesday, February 17, following lengthy discussions.
Regarding the Leaving Certificate, each student will automatically receive a calculated grade, but will also be given the option to sit a traditional exam, in which case, they will be offered the higher of the two grades. This decision would see students receive one set of results at the end of the process.
Non-exam assessments - such as orals and practicals - will go ahead, however certain aspects of these assessments will not be taking place due to public health guidelines, for example, elements of PE practicals which were most vulnerable to cancellation as they could involve team sports.
Adjustments to exams will also be made such as those introduced last year and earlier this year, meaning students will have more choice in the exams.
Legislation may also be introduced to underpin the calculated grades system and it is planned that such grades will be administered by the State Examinations Commission. It is understood that the legislation will prohibit the release of the ranking of students carried out by teachers for the purpose of awarding calculated grades and prohibit the canvassing of teachers by students or any person on their behalf.
The Department of Education will be putting out a tender for a new accredited grades algorithm for calculating grades and will not be using the same provider that produced grades for the 2020 exams. However, as with last year, a national standardisation process will be applied to the calculated grades.
JUNIOR CERTIFICATE
The Junior Certificate has also been cancelled. On Tuesday, February 17, the Teacher’s Union of Ireland which was involved in talks on the Leaving Certificate, stated that it had been advised that ‘it will not be possible to hold the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate exams in tandem in June in the normal manner’.
The Teacher’s Union of Ireland had called on the minister - with the view of confirming to students, teachers and parents - whether the junior cycle examinations would be cancelled for this reason.
“The TUI believes that a similar measure must be introduced for 2021 and announced immediately,” they said.
The cancellation of the Junior Certificate exams will also allow schools more space for holding the written Leaving Certificate exams.
Taoiseach Mícheal Martin noted that students were under stress and that it was time to give them clarity and that those in education were all working together to resolve this.