Probability a certain success for students

LEAVING CERT MATHS HIGHER LEVEL PAPER 2:IT WAS a case of the calm after the storm for higher-level maths students yesterday.

After last week’s much criticised first paper, yesterday’s paper was greeted with relief and even some enthusiasm .

“It was a very good paper,” said Brigid Cleary of St Flannan’s College in Ennis, Co Clare.

“There was nothing unreasonable and nothing unfair on it. Any student who did their work, learned their proofs and practised the past papers would have enjoyed it.”

Teachers described questions on the circle, vectors and trigonometry as fair and Ms Cleary said those who had studied probability would have been particularly happy with the paper .

“It was bog standard probability,” she said.

“They would have done it hundreds of times. There was a diagram of a marble falling. You have the diagram in front of you and they’re encouraging you to show how you worked it out. So it’s very straightforward.”

The paper was a welcome relief following the degree of furore which surrounded Friday’s first paper. The State Exams Commission was forced to defend that paper, taken by some 8,500 candidates, after teachers and students described it as the toughest and most challenging in years.

The commission, however, said that following discussions with the chief examiner in maths it was satisfied that the questions set for the first paper were “within the parameters of the syllabus”.

Aidan Roantree of the Institute of Education in Dublin said the paper was “unremarkable”.

“One would have to question the rationale of presenting candidates with two papers of such different standards,” he said.

John Brennan of the Ballinteer Institute in Dublin said students were far more satisfied with yesterday’s exam. “The general consensus was that it was a lot easier than Friday,” he said. “Question one on the circle was lovely . . . the trigonometry one was fine and the probability question was good.”

Mr Brennan said the higher-level Project Maths exam should not have posed many problems.

“Everybody should have been able to handle the first six questions. Questions seven and eight filter out the As and Bs. They were long and wordy questions . . . and not like maths as we know it.”