No nasty surprises in student friendly Junior Cert maths

PENCIL sharpeners, rulers and markers were in evidence yesterday as Junior Cert students dealt with cylindrical volumes, factorisation, algebra, quadratic equations and statistics - and that was just in the morning.

"There were no surprises," said Mr Gerard Nilgent, a maths teacher at the CBS Secondary School in Youghal, Co Cork, speaking about the ordinary level paper I yesterday. Students will sit paper II of the maths exam today. It followed the predictable lines, all of the questions followed the same formula that they follow every year."

Students, he said, were very pleased with the pager overall. "There were no problems with any of the questions," on the ordinary level included "a little bit of compound interest... that was the only unusual thing but still there was nothing that wasn't on the course", said Mr Nugent. Questions on factors and algebra were again "par for the course." He felt that any student who was able to do the first three parts in most questions "would be able to pass the paper."

The higher level paper I had "nothing out of the ordinary or difficult", he said. "Again there were no surprises. Each one of the questions was straightforward. The students felt it was easier than other years. All the students were very pleased."

The question on statistics was "an easy one. The standard expected of all honours students is quite high," he says.

Glancing at the foundation level, he said that the paper was fine. "The questions are going to be easier and much less information is wanted."

According to Ms Christina Conroy, a maths teacher at Donahies Community School on Streamville Road, Dublin 13, the ordinary level paper was "absolutely dead easy". The first question was "doable, all parts were straightforward and easy". And the other questions were just as straightforward.

Students were "really happy" with the higher level, said Ms Conroy. "It was much easier that the past four years and it was a much shorter paper." Many students, she said, were finished at least a half hour before the allotted time.

In general, she said, there was a lot of repetition in the morning's higher level paper. The answers to six different question parts involved using quadratic equations. "The knowledge required was the same on all of those occasions," she said.

A MATHS teacher at CBS Secondary School, the Green, Tralee, Co Kerry, Sean O'Brien, said that the foundation level paper was "reasonably difficult but there was enough material for students to achieve a pass". Mr O'Brien felt that the paper "could be made more user friendly, with some colour diagrams".

About yesterday morning's higher level paper, Mr O'Brien felt that "the paper was well received by both students and teachers". It was "quite student friendly with the usual testing parts, which determine the upper grades distribution. Some may have had difficulty with parts of question 1 and also 2b and 5b in particular, but on the whole it was a very nice paper."

Paper I of the ordinary level was "very suitable and studentfriendly", he said.