“Just one in 25 Leaving Cert students believe the exam is a fair and accurate assessment of their knowledge and skills, according to a new survey. The study also found a vast majority of students (76%) support a move towards continuous assessment to help ease the pressure and stress linked to summer exams …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 7 January]
“Students, parents, and teachers are in agreement on the need to radically reform the Leaving Certificate but quite divided on the ways of doing it, new research suggests. In surveys conducted for the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), all three groups agreed with the need for change …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 7 January]
“Sir, – Over the past five years fewer than 50% students have attained H3 (and equivalent) or above in Higher Level LC Maths. Assuming this is not due to poor teaching, I believe it is now time to end the Project Maths experiment …” (more)
[Adrian Grenham, Irish Times, 27 December]
“I came across a tweet yesterday in which an Irish academic based in England suggested that the Leaving Cert was ‘not fit for purpose’. That raises the question as to what the purpose of the Leaving actually is. In the past, a good Leaving Cert meant you could go to college or go straight to the workplace (in the banks, for example), or become a trainee in any number of professions …” (more)
[An Irish Blog about Education, 19 December]
“Sir, – Your front page headline ‘Leaving Cert causes stress and burnout in students’ (December 17th), while partly true, is likely to add to the stress of those students who are working away preparing for their exams with support from their parents and teachers …” (more)
[Breda Lynch, Irish Times, 18 December]
“Third-level colleges have not yet agreed a shortened timeline for offering places to Leaving Certificate students, seven weeks after it was hastily announced by two Government ministers. Education Minister Joe McHugh and Higher Education Minister of State Mary Mitchell O’Connor said on November 1 that the State Examinations Commission (SEC) would get exam results out a day earlier than usual next August …” (more)
[Niall Murray, BreakingNews.ie, 18 December]
“Sir, – As the mother of three teenage boys I concur with the findings of the ESRI’s report on the Leaving Cert (Carl O’Brien, Front page, December 17th). Students, parents and teachers are under huge pressure in the senior cycle. Schools and teachers do an exemplary job but the system pushes them to ‘teach to the test’ …” (more)
[Gillian Buckley, Irish Times, 18 December]
“Teachers have very mixed views on how badly-needed changes to assessment methods for Leaving Certificate should be introduced, early consultations have found. The issue could prove a stumbling block as efforts to remove problematic aspects of the two-year senior cycle progress, following major industrial unrest among teachers around new assessment methods for junior cycle …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 17 December]
“The pressure of the Leaving Cert is causing stress, burnout and mental health problems among students, according to an official review of senior cycle education in secondary schools. The findings are contained in an Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 17 December]
“There has been dramatic 8% fall in the number of students entering third-level to study computing courses. Employment prospects are good with 81% of recent Irish tech graduates now walking straight into a job, overwhelmingly in Ireland. But despite a high demand for these graduates, and some of the best starting salaries in the economy, interest in a career in this field has dropped significantly over the past five years …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 7 December]
“Plans are under way to revise the Leaving Cert. There’s no harm in that – it does need to be looked at. Reform and renewal is good in many walks of life. But the LC needs to be looked at in the context of the fact it is, and is likely to remain, the de facto entrance exam for college …” (more)
[An Irish Blog about Education, 8 November]
“Sweeping changes to the Leaving Cert, including bonus points for more subjects and a system of continuous assessment of students, are proposed in a report from the Oireachtas Education Committee. The all-party committee says students who do more than one foreign language should get extra points, and there should also be a points reward for taking certain subjects at higher level …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 6 November]
“The release of Leaving Cert results, CAO offers and the outcomes of appeals are being brought forward next year. A major overhaul of the timetable comes in the wake of the recent High Court case …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 1 November]
“Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD, and Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, have today (1st November 2018) announced significant changes to the Leaving Certificate examination appeals process from 2019. The changes will mean that, in future, students who appeal the results of the Leaving Certificate will be informed by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) of the outcome of their appeals much earlier than has previously been possible …” (more)
[Department of Education and Skills, 1 November]
“It may be time to sever the link between the Leaving Cert and entry to university due to the ‘huge’ rate of anxiety among students, school leaders have warned. Mary Keane, president of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, said the extent of stress-related illnesses among students was a source of major concern …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 19 October]
“College places have been offered today to 349 students who received an upgrade of one or more Leaving Certificate results this week. It is unclear how many of them will be able to start those courses as many colleges will instead ask them to defer their studies until next year as programmes have already been running for up to six weeks …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 12 October]
“Several hundred CAO applicants can expect a late college offer as a result of Leaving Cert re-checks. The State Examinations Commission (SEC) process led to upgrades in 1,453 papers and many students will receive a new offer or their first offer …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 10 October]
“CAO applicants to University College Dublin (UCD) who get a late offer after the results of Leaving Certificate appeals are released tomorrow will get their place this year – but only if space is available. UCD’s Academic Council Executive Committee has agreed to extend the September 30 offers deadline introduced this year, in order to offer places to upgraded students if there is spare capacity on the course in question …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 8 October]
“Many more Leaving Cert students who secure upgrades to their exams will be accepted onto degree courses in UCD this year on an ‘exceptional’ basis following the Rebecca Carter ruling. It is estimated up to 60 students will secure upgrades in their appeals this week which would make them eligible for courses at UCD …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 8 October]
“Last year more than 1,000 pupils from abroad were able to secure exemptions from studying Irish in the run-up to the Leaving Cert. Significantly, the proportion of students availing of this opt-out peaked dramatically in fifth year, when the Leaving Cert curriculum begins …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 1 October]
