Mixed reaction to 'abortion' question

Leaving Cert biology: A controversial Leaving Certificate biology question on cystic fibrosis, which appeared to portray abortion as an option, was criticised by some teachers yesterday.

However, others said they had no problem with the question, which appeared in section C of the higher-level paper.

Question 10 part b, which focused on cystic fibrosis, included a section which noted that some parents who are suspected of being carriers of disease-causing gene alternatives may be advised to consider a genetic test. It then asked students to suggest a role for such a test after "in-vitro" fertilisation.

One possible use for such a test is in helping parents to decide whether to proceed with a pregnancy or to terminate it.

But according to Michael Fitzgerald, the ASTI subject representative from St Joseph's College in Galway, this part of the question did not really require any biological knowledge on the part of the student.

While it may have been an attempt to present a more modern paper than last year, he said it was difficult to see why such an "emotive" and "unnecessary" question had appeared.

"It seems to point to something a lot of people might find upsetting. They seem to have overstepped the mark on this one."

However, another teacher, TUI subject representative Tim O'Meara from St Enda's Community School in Limerick, said he "wouldn't have any great problems" with the question.

This was because it simply sought to ascertain whether students were aware of the possible uses of information gained through genetic screening. They were not, he pointed out, being asked to act on this information.

Overall, Mr O'Meara described the higher-level paper as "fairly demanding". While this was to be expected at this level, less well-prepared students may have struggled to do well, he said.

Some of the questions, including question 12 - partly based on comprehension of a text - were significantly easier than others, he also pointed out.

"In other questions, for the same marks you had to do a lot more work," he said.

Mr Fitzgerald also pointed out that there were not many diagrams or graphs used in yesterday's "wordy" higher-level paper.However, most students felt it had gone very well and had reacted positively to the paper.

The ordinary-level paper was also popular with students, with most of those coming out of the exam hall saying they were "very pleased", Mr Fitzgerald said.

But while some of the "old reliable" such as photosynthesis and genetics appeared, he said these were among the most difficult on the paper. He also noted that there was good use of diagrams on the paper.

Mr O'Meara added that some ordinary-level students may have found the paper quite difficult, with some questions requiring a high level of detailed information.

"There is no doubt it was a testing paper for ordinary level students, but there were no surprises with it. The questions were phrased in a clear and precise manner.

"If students had done the work, they shouldn't have any great difficulty."