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Guidance Counsellor Billy Ryle on Minister Foley’s announcement yesterday which sees uncertainty end for Leaving Cert candidates as marking process and results date are revealed…
The uncertainty about the marking of the 2024 Leaving Cert exams was ended on Wednesday morning when Minister Norma Foley announced that, once again this year, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) will apply a post-marking adjustment after the marking process in the Leaving Cert exams has been completed.
This will be done to ensure that the overall results are, on average, no lower than they were last year. It also means that Leaving Cert results will again be about 7% higher than they were in 2019, the last year of standard marking.
There was a school of thought in some educational circles that there might be a gradual reduction of grades’ inflation this year as a first step in returning to normal marking based on candidates’ actual performance in the exam itself.
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That’s not going to happen this year but, at least, the candidates now know where they stand and can get on with preparing for the fast-approaching June written papers.
Leaving Cert exam results have been maintained at very high grade levels for the past four years due to calculated or accredited grades or, in 2022 and 2023, the application of a post-marking adjustment.
This latter step requires analysing the marks achieved in the exams and then making an adjustment to those marks. Now that minister Foley has confirmed that the 2024 grades will be subjected to the same level of inflation as last year, the inevitable consequence is that points requirements for CAO courses will be in line with last year’s levels.
Minister Foley also confirmed that the gradual return to normal Leaving Cert outcomes will begin in 2025. It’s expected that grades’ inflation which is currently running at 7% will be reduced to 5.5% in 2025 and incrementally phased out in the subsequent years.
If a reduction of 1.5% per annum is applied to Leaving Cert exam marks, it will be 2029 before the results are based solely on candidates’ performance in the exam.
So, it could take up to ten years to return to normality after the upheaval caused in the lives of exam candidates by Covid-19.
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Whatever system is used to reduce grades’ inflation and however long it takes to do so must prioritise the wellbeing and mental health of the young people concerned.
However, Leaving Cert exam marking must be restored to normal levels as the current grades inflation and high CAO points requirements are causing a great deal of unnecessary distress.
136,300 candidates have applied to take the certificate exams this year, a slight increase on the 134,800 candidates who had applied at the same time last year.
Of the total, 62,700 are entered to sit Leaving Cert Established or Leaving Cert Applied exams. The remaining 73,600 will sit for the Junior Cycle exams.
Just about seven weeks remain before the state exams get underway on Wednesday, 5th June. The Leaving Cert exams, the Junior Cycle exams and the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) exams will run until Tuesday, 25th June, Monday, 17th June and Thursday, 13th June, respectively.
The SEC will issue the results of the 2024 Leaving Cert exams and Leaving Cert Applied exams to candidates on Friday, 23rd August.
This is in line with the date of issue of the results in 2023. The 2024 Leaving Cert Results will be issued to candidates through the Candidate Self Service Portal available at www.examinations.ie and on www.gov.ie/leavingcertificate and to school authorities through the SEC’s Schools Portal.
The SEC will communicate directly with candidates and schools about the planned date for the issuing of the 2024 Leaving Cert results and about the arrangements for the exam.
• Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and educational Commentator
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