Adding an oral exam to Leaving Cert English is a good idea if it is done properly. It is a sensible move given that, aside from traditional supervised pen-and-paper exams, orals are the least corruptible by AI. More importantly, the ability to reason, speak and listen is vital in our fractured and emotive age.
Students developing their ideas through enjoyable, robust discussion is one of the joys of English classes. For the first time, this will be rewarded. An oral assessment will benefit articulate students who struggle to write, including some students with dyslexia. It won’t benefit them all – some students with dyslexia struggle to find words. Of course, it will also benefit the middle classes, who have been discussing opinions with their offspring since childhood, but the current model of assessments favours those with the most resources too.
According to its minutes, the oral exam was only proposed at the last meeting of the Development Committee for Leaving Cert English. There was only one vote against, by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) representative.
A total of 62,700 candidates sat LC English last year. Little wonder that the SEC opposed the proposal because of “scale and impact on the system”. It already has grave difficulties securing enough supervisors and examiners for existing exams.
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Attention has been focused on the science subjects and English but by 2029, 41 subjects will have been redeveloped. Most will have both an additional assessment component (AAC) such as a project or investigation, and a terminal exam, while some, like English, will have three elements.
[ Oral exams for Leaving Cert English: How will they work?Opens in new window ]
Granted, some are minority subjects, like applied maths (1,743 students in 2024), but subjects such as maths and biology have tens of thousands of candidates. The draft specification says the oral exam will happen at the end of fifth year. Many teachers think this is too early. The SEC will be expected to co-ordinate a new important oral exam just before or at the same time as the sixth-year Leaving Cert exams.
An oral English exam is not like Gaeilge or modern foreign languages, which examine language proficiency. Examiners will have to be thoroughly familiar with texts and skilled enough to challenge formulaic answers. The redeveloped Senior Cycle English will have 20 per cent each allocated to an oral exam and a creative writing task. Currently, there is no detail on either, but the new subject, drama, film and theatre studies, might provide a model.
Students do not just create a drama or short film but explain the process; what their influences were; what they learned and might do differently. Given the sophistication of GenAI, this model reduces – but does not eliminate – the possibility of plagiarism.
Teachers cannot be expected to police the use of AI. Even indemnity from legal action will not encourage teachers to accuse students of illicit use of AI given that currently no accurate detection software exists.
While adding an oral element is potentially a great idea, cutting the final exam to one paper, probably two and a half hours long, from two papers that are currently six hours and 10 minutes, is not. The Junior Cycle English exam was reduced from two papers lasting five hours to one paper of two hours, with no essay-style questions. The majority of questions require only a third to half a page, while some are reduced to ticking a box.
[ Leaving Cert 2.0: What to expect from the reformed senior cycleOpens in new window ]
The LC English exam was a test of handwriting endurance until the pandemic, when greater choice was introduced. Students now had time to think instead of frantically trying to speed-write, even if they are still required to write substantial essays.
The proposed redevelopment came about as a knee-jerk response to alleged rote learning. A minority of students will always learn off answers in defiance of their teachers’ advice. However, anyone who has corrected the LC English exam will tell you that it is immediately obvious when a memorised answer has been shoehorned to fit a different question.
Marks are awarded for originality, insight and authentic engagement with the question, so rote learning does not garner high marks and has not for decades.
Given the post-pandemic concessions, the LC English exam now works well. We risk damaging that while exacerbating student and teacher stress. As veteran English teacher Julian Girdham says in an excellent blog on the proposals, “Now watch as [stress] is increased, with students having high-stakes AACs in all subjects across a wearing length of time, and being less willing to take part in activities crucial for wellbeing like sport.”
[ Leaving Cert reforms ‘favour children of affluent families’Opens in new window ]
Think also of the majority of teachers who teach another subject as well as English. They will be facing five significant assessment milestones with their students in just over 12 months. For a profession facing recruitment and retention challenges, this seems a quick way to drive even more teachers out of education. And then there is the pressure on schools, which will be juggling AACs, orals and practicals for more than 20 subjects.
The consultation on the proposed changes in English is open until May 2nd. If you are a student, teacher, parent or just a citizen concerned for the future of such a high-stakes exam as the Leaving Cert, go online now and have your say.
