Sir, – I am baffled by your support ("The Irish Times view on the Leaving Cert: certainty for students", Editorial, February 2nd) for the announcement by the Minister for Education on Monday that the overall grade profile for this year's Leaving Cert exams will be in line with that of the class of 2021. By far the biggest problem with last year's arrangements was the grade inflation that resulted. In effect, this year's class will have the worst of both worlds – the maintenance of grades so high that many higher education places will be randomly allocated, but without the stress-relieving insurance policy of predicted or accredited grades.
Of course it is necessary to address the problem of competition with 2021 students.
Baking in 2021 grade inflation is the worst way to do it. – Yours, etc,
AEDÍN DORIS,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.
A chara, – Can you please stop writing about the Leaving Cert? The Irish Times has done enough damage over the decades, making it a yearly topic, hyping it up for parents and students alike, turning it into a frenzy, while simultaneously writing articles about the disproportionate pressure the students are under. My son, who is doing the Leaving, agrees with me. Let’s not forget, it’s only an exam, points don’t matter when you study abroad, and in a few years at 21 as a mature student, it does not matter at all. – Is mise,
JORINDE ROLSMA,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – I welcome most of the details of the arrangements for the Leaving Certificate 2022 that have filtered through at this point.
However, the Minister still has work to do in two areas. She has committed to ensuring that “the grade profile of the class of 2022 will match that of the class of 2021”. The aim of this is to ensure a level playing field between these two year groups. The difficulty is that this is still an inflated profile and continues to cause concern for two groups of people. The first group of people are the potential high achievers of the class of 2022, who are still faced with the prospect of random selection for popular courses.
A “high grade profile” offers no solace to many students who would like the opportunity to prove themselves in exams that manage to clearly separate abilities.
A system needs to be designed where random selection is not required for these high-points courses. It could be a system that uses the students’ average exam percentage to separate them, when random selection might otherwise be required. The second group of people looking anxiously at this are the class of 2023, who are now wondering how they will be accommodated, as they will be competing against students from previous years in an inflated system. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD FOX,
Kilcoole,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Some of our political parties and a good few of your contributors suggest the absence of predicted grades will affect how students vote in future elections.
Really? This is a very mean and narrow opinion of our students, that after two or three years their main focus at election time will be the selfish thought of the absence of predicted grades. Will they not expand their horizons at all? Once in college, school is soon forgotten, amid the fun and stress of negotiating a greatly expanded social life, and assignments and exams that will make the Leaving Certificate, the one proposed for this year, look like a bit of a doddle. – Yours, etc,
DAVID GRUBB,
Multyfarnham,
Co Westmeath.
Sir, – With all this talk of hybrid versus traditional Leaving Cert, I would suggest a more radical change. Namely, adopting a more specialised system akin to the British A-levels, wherein students can focus, far more in-depth, on typically three or four subjects that are actually relevant to their future field of study, as opposed to our current seven or eight, many of which would never be used after school. Granted, there’s something to be said for a broader education early on in life, but surely that is what the Junior Cycle is for. Instituting a far more rigorous, focused Leaving cycle would also allow a greater shift to three-year primary degrees (or four years, but with optional second-year entry), given the first-year syllabus of many four year courses is often, more or less, a rehash of Leaving cycle material (albeit marginally more advanced), with the first year simply there to accommodate those who didn’t care to take the relevant subjects. – Yours, etc,
WILL BREEN,
Cork.
Sir, – As the parent of students in the Leaving Certificate class of 2021 and 2022, it was with dismay that I read that the grade inflation of Leaving Certificate 2021 is to be preserved, resulting in places for many high-points courses decided again this year by lottery ("Colleges warn over 'cruel' levels of grade inflation", News, February 1st). Preserving grade inflation will also impact subsequent years as a similar adjustment will have to be made in 2023 and beyond to ensure that these students are not disadvantaged in the points race.
There is no doubt that the Leaving Certificate examination needs reform. However, it is important to remember that it is not the remit of the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to provide a Leaving Certificate that is suitable as an entrance examination for third level. The responsibility of the SEC is to provide a fair and equitable examination to reflect educational achievement in secondary school for all pupils, including those who do not seek a third-level place.
Rather than indulging in hand-wringing regarding the cruelty of the current system, universities need to take responsibility for their own admissions and devise an independent system for assessment for entry to third level. A system, such as the SAT used in the US, could be used alone or in combination with Leaving Certificate results to allocate third-level places.
Failure of universities to step up to this challenge will mean that our brightest and best students will seek third-level education in institutions abroad where their future education is not determined by a roll of the dice. – Yours, etc,
LUCY NORRIS,
Leopardstown,
Dublin 18.