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Guidance Counsellor Billy Ryle says there is great credit due to Minister Norma Foley for progressive exams’ reform as Kerry’s Junior Cycle candidates deliver superb results…
Junior Cycle exam results were issued by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) on Wednesday to 70,727 candidates nationwide.
Junior Cycle results are available to candidates in their schools from early morning and candidates also have access to their results online from 4pm on Wednesday.
Junior Cycle exam results in Kerry were superb and on par with the very high standard of last year when the new grade descriptors were exclusively used.
The number of candidates who sat for the Junior Cycle exam this year was about 3,597 or 5.35% up on the 2022 figure of 67,130. This is the first time ever that a junior cycle exam has exceeded 70,000, indicative of population growth.
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Six grade descriptors – Distinction, Higher Merit, Merit, Achieved, Partially Achieved, Not Graded – are now used in the reformed Junior Cycle programme, replacing the old A, B, C, D, E, F and NG grades.
The Junior Cycle exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and replaced with a system of school assessments. Since 2022, when the Junior Cycle exam was once again held post covid, all subjects are examined under the new Junior Cycle grade descriptors.
English, Irish and Mathematics are examined at both higher and ordinary levels while all other subjects are examined at common level.
As and from last year’s Junior Cycle exams, Irish is examined at two strands with T1 aimed at native speakers and T2 aimed at non-native speakers.
The Junior Cycle exam results were issued exceptionally late last year on 23rd November, so the SEC must be commended for getting the results out five weeks earlier this year.
The increased availability of markers and a major move to online marking in almost all subjects helped to facilitate the early results. It’s wonderful also that students, are once again getting state exam experience at the end of the junior cycle.
Great credit is due to Minister for Education, Norma Foley for overseeing a seamless transition from the old Junior Certificate exam to the reformed Junior Cycle programme, which is far more suitable for the current student body.
When you combine this achievement with the reforms that are currently in train at Leaving Cert level, Minister Foley has emerged as a very progressive Minister for Education.
The icing on the cake of Minister Foley’s outstanding stewardship will surely be the publication of the 2024 state exam results along the pre covid timeline for the convenience of Leaving Cert and Junior Cycle students.
The reporting process at Junior Cycle culminates in the awarding of the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) to students.
The JCPA replaces the Junior Cert and consequently the SEC no longer issues these certificates. The JCPA confirms the level of achievement in learning, under five descriptors – exceptional, above expectations, in line with expectations, yet to meet expectations and not reported – across all areas of learning including Classroom-Based Assessments (CBA), Short Courses, Priority Learning Units and other areas of learning, as well as the SEC exam results.
The Junior Cycle exam is often overshadowed by the more public Leaving Cert exam but it’s a very important exam in its own right.
It’s a prestigious exam of the SEC and it’s the first opportunity for second level students to engage with a public exam of this nature. With very few students now leaving school after this exam, the Junior Cycle is a passport to Senior Cycle education, which is a further two years – three years if the optional Transition Year is included.
During the final two years of Senior Cycle, students take the traditional Leaving Certificate (LC), the Leaving Certificate Vocational Program (LCVP) or the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA).
Most schools will now give those moving on to 5th year a few days to finalize their subject grouping for Senior Cycle.
Consider your Leaving Cert subject choice very carefully. Start thinking about your college course options and the related careers because, this time next year, it will be your turn to apply for college. Congratulations to all candidates, who received Junior Cycle exam results.
CHECKLIST
• 70,727 candidates received Junior Cycle results
• Junior Cycle exam results in Kerry were superb
Six grade descriptors are used – Distinction, Higher Merit, Merit, Achieved, Partially Achieved, Not Graded
• The Junior Cycle exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021
• English, Irish and Mathematics are examined at both higher and ordinary levels
• All other subjects are examined at common level
• Junior Cycle students are awarded the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA)
• The JCPA confirms the level of achievement in learning, under five descriptors – exceptional, above expectations, in line with expectations, yet to meet expectations and not reported
• Junior Cycle is a passport to Senior Cycle education- LC, LCVP or LCA
• Congratulations to all candidates, who received Junior Cycle exam results.
Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Educational Commentator
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