Leaving Cert 2021: Grade inflation could lead to CAO points increase

The demand by representatives of the Leaving Cert class of 2021 to be given the only hybrid exam structure in the world will pay handsome dividends when they collectively log on to the State Exams Commission (SEC) portal at 10am this morning.

Having the option of securing the best grade in any subject from either the estimated marks of their teachers and standardised by the SEC or the grade they secured by sitting the exam in that subject in June, has turned out very well for most students.

Of the 57,952 students who sat the traditional Leaving Cert this year, 5,087, or 8.8 per cent, opted to fully accept their teachers’ assessed grades.

While 52,952 students sat at least one written paper, only 60 per cent of the subject papers were actually taken by students. Most students registered to sit all papers but many did not turn up on the day in question.

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A school principal lamented to me during the summer of dumping bin loads of unused exam scripts into recycling.

The SEC estimates that the result of this process is that average grades across all subjects and levels increased by 2.6 percentage points on 2020 results which were themselves 4.4 per cent ahead of the results from the 2019 examinations.

In 2020, senior sources within the third-level sector estimated that the 4.4 per cent overall increase represented a 10 per cent increase among higher-level papers.

Increases

An analysis of the results at higher level in 2021 across the main subjects of Irish, English and maths bears this out.

Those securing a H1 have increased in English from a three-year average in 2017-2019 of 2.9 to 4.4 in 2020 and 7.6 in 2021.

In Irish the corresponding H1s are 5.4 in 2017-2019, 9.1 in 2020 and 11.9 in 2021. In maths the increases in H1s are 6.0 across 2017-2019, 8.6 in 2020 and 15.1 in 2021.

How did students do so well?

Again, an analysis of the SEC statistics reveals how students were in a win-win situation.

In the case of 129,190 grades (or 52.5 per cent of the grades awarded) the grade a student will see on their provisional results sheet today is the standardised one resulting from the assessed grade process and is higher than the grade they achieved in the written paper.

In the case of 39,659 results, or 16.1 per cent of cases, the grade was achieved on the written paper and was higher than their standardised assessed grade in that subject.

Obviously, these excellent results will raise all boats in terms of students' achievements but will inevitably also increase the CAO points scores which applicants will have to achieve to secure that last coveted place in their desired courses next Tuesday afternoon.

The results from both processes have equal status and the provisional statements of results and the final certificates do not distinguish examination results from accredited grades.

Collecting results

Schools have always provided an important role in offering guidance and support to students on results day and many may want to collect them in-person from their school in the traditional manner.

School principals are asked to provide support to students in an appropriate way on the day, 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.

Students who arrange to go to the school will be required to respect physical distancing requirements and to behave in a responsible way and in line with public health advice, the school’s Covid-19 response plan and the school’s visitor policy.

What students cannot do, if they do attend their school, is meet with any of their subject teachers, to discuss or query the mark which was allocated in the assessed grade process.

A student who is disappointed with their grade may feel aggrieved and want to raise the issue with a specific teacher, but the teacher is strictly forbidden under legislation relating to this process from engaging in any interactions with students, or parents for that matter.

Any attempt to discuss an assessed grade would be completely in breach of the regulation and could have serious consequences.

Students will have from 5pm on September 7th until 8pm on September 8th 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 Saturday, September 11th.

There is an appeals process to the assessed grades process. It does not involve any re-examination of the mark awarded by teachers, but purely checks for clerical errors in the transmission of data between schools and the SEC and within their internal processes.

While it has long been the tradition for students to leave their schools together and congregate in local hostelries and coffee shops to celebrate their results, this type of activity could have serious public health consequences this year.

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 Tuesday, September 7th, 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 each year 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.

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