Leaving Cert accountancy/post-mortem: Teachers are hopeful that the traditionally high failure rate for Leaving Cert accounting will decline this year after yesterday's papers were well received.
Last year, over 19 per cent of students failed the ordinary level paper, the second-highest failure rate of any Leaving Cert subject. Over 7 per cent failed the higher level paper. By contrast, less than 2 per cent failed the higher level English paper.
According to teachers, accounting attracts students who have a high aptitude for the subject. Mr Joseph Keating, of Cabinteely Community School, Dublin, said: "It's a subject that requires a high level of expertise. With maths you can isolate elements of the course, but you really need to have a grasp of the fundamentals of accounting; you can't simply be good at one aspect."
Mr Keating said a review of the course was needed that would encompass the views of teachers. The marking scheme was strict and there was little room for interpretation.
Teachers said the content of both papers this year was predictable and fair. However, the exam continues to be regarded as a tough one at Leaving Cert level as the course is very broad.
Finding the time to complete yesterday's paper was the main problem for many students. Although the paper was long, nothing appeared on it that was not on the syllabus.
One woman teacher said students didn't get all the questions they may have expected, "but students that went through past papers for the last four or five years should have been well prepared".
Mr Alan Cashell, an accounting teacher at Sandford Park, Dublin, said: "It was a fair paper with standard questions. They (the examiners) have continued the trend of examining student on what they should know."
The ordinary level paper was described as fair and all the questions that appeared had been covered on the syllabus.
The students were examined on standard questions that would have been seen on past papers, i.e. a debtors ledger control account and a creditors ledger control account.