Reassessing assessments

Following the announcement by Education and Skills Minister

Jan O’Sullivan TD that the Central Applications Office points scale is to be reformed, eolas takes a look at what impact the changes will have on the Irish Leaving Certificate examinations.

A major reform to the weight of grades obtained in Irish Leaving Certificate examinations was announced recently with Education and Skills Minister Jan O’Sullivan TD stating this change is part of her plan to “better support students transitioning from second level to higher education.” The Progressive Points System was developed collaboratively with the Irish Universities Association and the Institutes of Technology Ireland. The main benefits of the new system are:

•   it maintains the current alignment between the points awarded for achievement at Higher Level and the points awarded for achievement at Ordinary Level;

•   the difference in the points awarded for each grade varies, reducing the probability that students will achieve the same overall points score. This will help to minimise the allocation of places in higher education by random selection;

•   it will encourage the take-up of Higher Level subjects through the introduction of points for the new H7 grade;

•   it continues to award bonus points for Higher Level Maths as 25 bonus points will now be awarded in this subject at grades H6 or above.

This new grading system and points scale will apply to students who entered fifth year in September 2015 and will be sitting their Leaving Certificate in 2017. Together, it is hoped that these reforms will help to reduce the pressure on students at exam time and enable them to have a broader and more rounded learning experience.

The new scale has been devised to minimise random selection for third level entry, something that is a major point of frustration for students and families applying to Universities. It is also hoped that the new scale will rewards students who aim higher, both in taking the risk of sitting a higher paper and for succeeding in those papers.

Eight point scale

The new scale has eight grades. Gone is the 14 point grade scale ranging from A1/A2 to F/NG. It will be replaced by a numerical table for both Higher and Ordinary Level. The highest grade that can now be obtained is ‘Grade 1’ and the lowest is ‘Grade 8’. The highest seven grades divide the marks ranging from 100 per cent to 30 per cent into seven equal grade bands 10 per cent wide. Students who obtain a percentage mark of less than 30 per cent will be awarded a grade 8. The grades at Higher and Ordinary Level will be distinguished by prefixing the grade with H or O respectively. 

At present, the majority of students receiving a current grade are within 3 per cent of the higher grade boundary. The department feel this creates an unnecessary pressure that pushes students towards rote learning and it is hoped that this new scheme will ease the pressure to achieve marginal gains in exams encouraging more substantial engagement with each subject. The new eight point scale also moves the Irish Leaving Certificate closer to school leaving examinations in other countries including England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Basic matriculation requirements

As a result of this change, a revised system of basic matriculation has been introduced. Its requirements are:

•   where the requirements are currently five Ordinary Level D3 grades, in 2017 these will become 5 O6/H7 grades;

•   where the requirements are currently two Higher Level C3 grades and four Ordinary Level D3 grades, in 2017 these will become 2H5 and 4 O6/H7 grades;

•   where the requirements are currently three Higher Level C3 grades and three Ordinary Level D3 grades, in 2017 these will become 3 H5 and 3 O6/H7 grades.

The points awarded for QQI-FET awards will also be revised to maintain the existing equivalence with the current points scale. Currently the maximum possible total score of 360 is multiplied by 10 and divided by 9 to give a maximum overall point score of 400. From 2017, this maximum possible total score of 360 will be multiplied by 13 and divided by 12 to give a revised maximum total of 390 for applicants from further education and training.

Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme Link Modules are aligned with the current Leaving Certificate grading scheme and as such have also been realigned. A Distinction in an LCVP link module will now be worth 66 points instead of 70, a Merit will be worth 46 instead of 50 and a Pass will be worth 28 instead of 30.

For those who have already been awarded their Leaving Certificate Qualifications, grades from D3 to A1 can be mapped directly to a grade on the new grading scale. This means that for students who sat the Leaving Certificate before 2017, the A2 and B1 grade will both be treated the same as the new grade 2.

Criticism

This reform process is not without criticism, despite welcoming the reduction in pressure placed on students, the President of the National Parents Council, Don Myers said that regardless of this change each college is still restricted by the numbers it can accept and he fears that the reduction in grade bandings may actually lead to an increase in the “randomness” in the allocation of college places.

The Independent Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell has accused the government of lowering standards by redefining the standard and value system and warned that continuing to grant bonus points for Maths was “capitulating to a banking system of education” that will create a “hierarchy of subjects.”

However, despite these claims the Chair of the Irish Universities Association, Professor Andrew Deeks welcomed the new points scale stating that he believed it would reduce pressure on students, allow for greater flexibility, variety and innovation in Leaving Certificate assessments and place a greater focus on the achievement of broader learning objectives. He is also fully supportive of the idea that whilst maintaining the current relative alignment between Higher Level and Ordinary Level, the new points scale “should minimise the use of random of selection in the admissions process.” Whether that proves to be the case or not remains to be seen.