Sir, – With regard to “Survey finds teachers will struggle to authenticate students’ exam work” (Education, January 22nd), I wish to raise two critical points as a practising teacher and member of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCAA) Physics Subject Development Group.
First, while it may appear that practising teachers on NCCA committees have influence over key decisions, the reality is quite different. Both the ASTI and the Irish Science Teachers’ Association (ISTA) have publicly dissociated themselves from the research project components (worth 40 per cent) of the new curriculums in biology, chemistry, and physics. Furthermore, the Irish Universities Association (IUA) representatives on the NCCA subject development groups for these subjects have also publicly dissociated themselves from this component of the new curriculums. These dissociations are based on valid concerns detailed in publicly available statements from these organisations. Unfortunately, the voices of practising teachers and other stakeholders are not reflected in the proposed model for assessing laboratory practical skills.
Second, the proposed model of assessment for the three science subjects fundamentally differs from the existing models of additional assessment components in subjects such as languages and music. In those subjects, an external examiner directly assesses students’ linguistic and musical by means of oral exams or musical performances. However, in the science subjects, laboratory practical skills will by assessed solely by means of a document submitted by each student. Such documents can easily be generated within minutes using AI tools, raising significant concerns about authentication. Thus, this model of indirect assessment of laboratory practical skills is fundamentally flawed. Without addressing this vulnerability by devising an alternative model, the integrity of the Leaving Certificate examination is at serious risk.
It is crucial that these issues are resolved before implementing the new curriculums in physics, chemistry and biology to ensure fairness, maintain standards, and protect the credibility of the Leaving Certificate. – Yours, etc,
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JOHN CONNEELY,
An Spidéal,
Co Galway.
