THE STATE Examination Commission has acknowledged serious grade inflation in the Leaving Cert results, in briefing documents prepared for the Department of Education.
The Commission says the number of students gaining the highest grades (A1, A2 and B1) has almost doubled at higher level since 1992.
It also says:
- In English, the percentage gaining grades A or B has increased from 21 per cent to 37 per cent over the period;
- In maths, the percentage scoring grades A or B has increased from 32 to 48 per cent;
- Overall, 43 per cent of students were awarded grades A or B at higher level in 2009, compared to only 21 per cent in 1992.
The information was compiled for the department’s investigation into grade inflation ordered by former minister, Batt O’Keeffe, earlier this year.
The commission memo will raise fresh questions about academic standards in the Leaving Cert. This year’s exam begins on Wednesday.
It will also increase the pressure on Minister for Education Mary Coughlan to overhaul an exam widely criticised by employers and educationalists.
Four years ago, former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, argued for a revised Leaving Cert with less rote learning and more independent learning in an article in The Irish Times.
But the Government has been slow to change the exam. A proposed revamp tabled by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment – which could cost €100 million – has been shelved.
It is understood Ms Coughlan wants to finalise the long-delayed review of the Junior Cert before addressing deficiencies in the Leaving Cert.
In its briefing document, the commission defends the Leaving Cert exam. Studies show, it says, that a single Irish Leaving Cert subject at higher level is equivalent to two-thirds of an A level in Britain.
But the Kerry-based Network for Irish Educational Standards says there is overwhelming evidence that “weaker and weaker students are achieving higher and higher grades”.
New research compiled by the network shows the rate of A grades in the 10 most popular Leaving Cert subjects has increased by 144 per cent since 1994. It also shows the rate of B grades has surged by 52 per cent over the same period.
In a presentation last month, the network’s director, Dr Brendan Guilfoyle, said he had received hundreds of letters and e-mails of support from academics since the grade inflation crisis was highlighted earlier this year.
Also this year, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, Tom Boland, said the emphasis the Leaving Cert placed on rote learning was increasingly out of kilter with modern needs. Many “spoon-fed’’ Leaving Cert students were struggling with independent learning at third level.
The focus of many Leaving Cert students was exclusively on CAO points, he added.
