Plenty of ministers for education have talked up reform of the Leaving Cert, but very few have actually delivered it.
Now, Minister for Education Norma Foley looks set to drop what was the first jigsaw piece of much wider and ambitious change aimed at modernising the senior cycle.
The plan to move English and Irish paper one exams to the end of fifth year was supposed to be an “easy win”, in the words of one of her senior officials.
Under these bigger plans, intended to be delivered over the coming years, 60 per cent of marks for all Leaving Cert subjects will be based on written exams
Spreading the assessment load, so the idea went, would ease some of the pressure facing students.
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Now, even this relatively straightforward change, in the greater scheme of things, has been jettisoned in the face of opposition from teachers and concern among students.
Where, now, for the more dramatic — and contentious — reform which will involve far bigger battles further down the line?
Under these bigger plans, intended to be delivered over the coming years, 60 per cent of marks for all Leaving Cert subjects will be based on written exams and 40 per cent on additional assessment components such as project work, orals or practicals.
Given that teachers’ unions are implacably opposed to grading their own students for State exams, delivering this will be no easy feat.
Some will doubtless ask if the Minister and former second-level English teacher will be able to take on these types of reforms.
Those close to her, however, insist she is focused on partnership and has simply taken on board criticism and questions from teachers, students and parents.
She is, sources say, determined to press ahead with wider changes such as establishing “network schools” which will pilot new subjects such drama, film and theatre studies; and climate action and sustainable development.
In practice, though, most students are likely to be waiting until 2028 at the earliest before any significant Leaving Cert reforms in subjects begin to roll out across schools.
It’s worth recalling why senior reform is on the agenda in the first place.
Ireland needed to modernise its education system to avoid producing ‘second-class robots’ in a world of rapid technological change
— Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD’s education division
The age-old criticism of the Leaving Cert is that its heavy emphasis on high-stakes written exams over three weeks is causing a “negative backwash” in teaching and learning and too much “teaching to the test”.
A big review of the senior cycle by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment acknowledged as much and said there were “unacceptable levels of stress” in the run-up to exams.
When the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reviewed the Leaving Cert, it also noted that the senior cycle and points system generated high levels of stress and anxiety. Its overall purpose seemed “too narrow and rigid” for Ireland’s aspirations of delivering a learning experience to the highest international standards.
As Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD’s education division, put it to The Irish Times: Ireland needed to modernise its education system to avoid producing “second-class robots” in a world of rapid technological change.
Curriculum and assessment changes, however, take years to realise; the Junior Cycle, for example, was almost two decades in the making.
The idea of an “easy win” must have made sense for optics, at least, in the eyes of Foley and her team.
Simply moving English and Irish paper one to the end of fifth year looked like a neat solution on paper.
Teachers’ groups, however, made convincing arguments over why it wasn’t such a good idea.
Teachers’ Union of Ireland general secretary Michael Gillespie said it would particularly disadvantage roughly 25 per cent of students who either do not have access to, or who choose not to take up, the option of transition year.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland described overall plans as “change for the sake of change”, without any consideration of unintended consequences for students.
It is understood that [Minister for Education Norma] Foley was prepared to make several changes in an attempt to secure the support of teachers
In addition, English and Irish teachers’ groups including the Irish National Organisation for Teachers of English and An Gréasán said the plans would adversely affect students and severely hinder language learning.
It is understood that Foley was prepared to make several changes in an attempt to secure the support of teachers and — in particular — students.
Among the measures under consideration included moving essays for both exams from paper one at the end of fifth year to paper two at the end of sixth year, and moving questions on “prescribed” work into paper two.
She might well have been prepared to press ahead in the face of opposition from teachers.
However, sources say concerns among student representatives were a crucial factor.
The Irish Second Level Students’ Union (ISSU) broadly supports the principle of spreading the assessment load into fifth year, but wanted questions answered over issues such as what would happen to students who drop from higher to ordinary level in English or Irish between fifth and sixth year, as well as students who do not sit transition year, among other issues.
When no easy answers or clarifications were forthcoming, it seemed likely that students felt unable to support the plans.
Having the teachers against you is one thing — having students is another.
The ISSU showed during the pandemic how being organised and using social media was highly effective in mobilising politicians, students and parents.
However, it is hard to see how many of those concerns can be meaningfully addressed — such as the disadvantage facing students who have transition year — even in the space of a year
Sources close to Foley say she is simply postponing the plans to move the exams to fifth year by a year to take stock and engage with stakeholders.
However, it is hard to see how many of those concerns can be meaningfully addressed — such as the disadvantage facing students who have transition year — even in the space of a year.
Meanwhile, the sadistic rite of passage that is the Leaving Cert will continue. It remains narrow, inflexible and doesn’t capture the wide range of students’ intelligence.
For years our cultural obsession with the Leaving Cert and belief in its exceptionalism has made the idea of deviating from anything else seem perilous and fraught with risk. It doesn’t look set to change any time soon.
