Leaving Cert 2022: Grades adjusted upwards in effort to tackle grade inflation

The promise given by the Minister for Education Norma Foley to the Leaving Cert class of 2022 that their examination results will not fall below the average for the class of 2021, has been fulfilled through an adjustment upwards of, on average, of four per cent on the marks achieved by students once their papers were corrected.

Students will receive these results when they log on to the State Exams Commission (SEC) portal from 10am this morning. Unfortunately for some students the joy at receiving excellent results will be short lived, given that securing an offer in a desired course requires an applicant to be among the top number of students who sought a place on that programme.

Grade inflation is a complex problem to correct. Inflating everybody’s marks by 5.6 per cent, does not improve a student’s place in the overall rankings. If an applicant is the 101st on the course list where there are 100 places on offer, they will still miss out.

Why did the Minister make this offer to students if it was not going to improve their chances from among their fellow Leaving Cert cohort? She did so because the class of 2022 only make up on average 60 per cent of the total number of applicants to the CAO this year, or any other year.

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There are at least 12,000-15,000 applicants in the CAO process this year who secured their Leaving Cert in 2020 or 2021. With high Leaving Cert marks baked into the results of the class of 2020 and 2021, it would have been grossly unfair to the class of 2022 to have allowed the pattern of results to revert to pre-Covid levels.

The dilemma which arises from the Minister’s actions is that in leveling the playing field for the class of 2022 she has created the identical problem for the class of 2023 and following years.

Plans are already being drafted within the Department of Education to gradually reduce the grade inflation which has built up over the past three years, but in a manner which will not adversely affect the career and course opportunities of any particular year group of school leavers.

Students taking the Leaving Cert in 2023 may also benefit from some adjustments to the examination papers themselves, to decrease the workload on students as was applied to subjects during Covid19.

Collecting results

Schools have always provided an important role in offering guidance and support to students on results day. School principals will provide support to students today and over the coming days, through enabling them to come to the school if they wish at a scheduled time, to meet with members of the student support team such as guidance counsellors, year heads, tutors and chaplains.

Given that the new academic year has already started, last year’s Leaving Cert class who arrange to go to their school will be required to respect any Covid arrangements still in place and to behave in a responsible way in line with the school’s visitor policy.

Students will have until Wednesday next 7th September at 8 pm to make an application to view their scripts. They will have an opportunity to view their marked scripts at set times across three sessions on Sat 10th and Sunday 11th September.

Following the receipt of Leaving Cert results, those students who have sought college places through the CAO application process will have to wait until 2pm on Thursday, September 8th, to see whether they have secured the required number of points to receive an offer on one of their top college choices.

Many students and parents complain about the delay between the release of Leaving Cert results and the first round of CAO offers. Unfortunately, given the complexity of the offers process and the need to ensure that the correct places are offered to the appropriate applicants, this delay is unavoidable.

Online helpdesk

The Irish Times results helpdesk will operate from 12 midday on Friday, September 2nd to answer readers’ queries on results and college or further education applications. For more see irishtimes.com/education