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As the latest data reveals 87% of Leaving Cert students are opting for both written exams and SEC-accredited grades, Billy Ryle says students have a great deal of clarity about the exam…
The vast majority of Leaving Cert students have signed up for the written exam in June as well as for SEC- accredited grades.
This follows a Department of Education and Skills (DES) decision to give students a choice of a written exam, accredited grades or a hybrid mixture of both.
Students who have opted into both methods of assessment will be awarded the highest grade achieved in each subject.
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A provisional breakdown of the data released by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) on Monday confirms that 87% of candidates who initially registered for the Leaving Cert plan to take both options in one of more subjects.
A total of 6% have opted for accredited grades only, while 2% have decided to sit the written exam only. 5% of candidates have not completed the application process, but they will have a final opportunity to do so when the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP) reopens in late April/early May.
From the total of 63,127 who initially entered for Leaving Cert 2021, 60,089 (95%) – 57,082 Leaving Certs and 3,007 Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) students – have submitted assessment choices.
The SEC figures confirm that individual students have worked out their personal strategy for getting the best out of the hybrid system.
The overall figures clearly indicate that many students are concentrating their studies in the remaining weeks on a select number of subjects, rather than sitting all the subjects they originally intended to take.
Irish is the least popular written exam with only 60% of students signing up for the written exam.
The take up of the written exam in French and German is also low at 72% in each subject. A very impressive 81% of candidates are opting to sit English.
The most popular take up of written exams are in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, with 83% signing up for Maths, 88% for Biology, 90% for Physics, 91% for Chemistry and a whopping 96% for Applied Maths.
The SEC will continue to engage with schools and students to ensure that it has accurate information for all students who wish to do the exams.
However, it’s very likely that as many as 3,038 students, or 5%, may have already decided to withdraw from the Leaving Cert.
That is a worrying statistic as most of these young people are likely to be from disadvantaged backgrounds and may have lacked the necessary supports during a fragmented school year.
One hopes that the SEC will make every possible effort to convince this cohort to sign up for the exam when the CSSP reopens in a few weeks.
It will also remain unclear, until the written exams are over, how many students will actually sit for all the subjects they have signed up for as some of them may revise their strategy as June draws nearer.
There are some concerns at third-level that the dual assessment system will result in further grades inflation this year and cause CAO points to spiral upwards.
However, if both systems are accurately standardised that may not happen as a great deal has been learned from last year’s ‘calculated grades’ experience. Also, the steady hand of the SEC is back in control of running and assessing the exams this year.
In addition, Minister for Further & Higher Education, Simon Harris, is promising to provide thousands of additional third-level places in high-demand courses this year in a bid to ease some of the pressure on points requirements.
It’s all looking good for Leaving Cert exam students. They now have a great deal of clarity and certainty about the structure of the exam.
At this stage, my overriding advice to all of them is to focus totally on good quality study during the remaining weeks. Stay grounded in the moment and try to avoid over thinking about what may happen with points and courses.
CHECKLIST
✓ The State Examinations Commission (SEC) runs the second-level exams
✓ Students can face up to the state exams with considerable optimism
✓ Adjustments to the exam papers will favour the students
✓ The stigma of failure has been totally removed from the Leaving Cert exam
✓ The Leaving Cert exam is impartial, unbiased and comprehensive
✓ The vast majority of students can be certain of doing well in the Leaving Cert
✓ The written papers now become the major focus of attention
✓ Do your best during the remaining weeks and at the actual exams
✓ The SEC Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP) reopens late April/early May
✓ Closing date for late applications to CAO is 5.15pm on 1st May
✓ CAO online change of mind facility (free) opens at 12.00 noon on 5th May
✓ Leaving Cert exam takes place from 9th June to 29thJune
✓ Exam timetables are available on www.examinations.ie
Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Educational Commentator
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