State exams body got one complaint over junior cycle English exam

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) received just a single complaint over the junior cycle English exam despite concerns among students who feared they would not have time to complete the paper.

Tara O’Sullivan, a 15-year-old student, gathered some 12,000 signatures as part of an online campaign to extend the junior cycle English exam by 30 minutes after many students were unable to complete a mock two-hour exam based on the new curriculum.

At an Oireachtas committee prompted by the petition, officials from the commission said no difficulties were experienced by candidates in respect of completion time.

While some exams can attract up to 3,000 complaints from students and parents, the new English paper resulted in a single phone call.

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Officials confirmed that the English exam was still being drawn up when Ms O’Sullivan’s petition was submitted, but did not say whether it resulted in any specific changes.

Aidan Farrell, the commission's chief executive, said students who were facing into the first exam under the new reforms were understandably concerned for their prospects in the "real" English exam based on their experiences in mock papers.

“Following receipt of the online petition last March, the SEC moved to reassure candidates that the examination papers in preparation for the June 2017 sitting of junior cycle English would be suitable for completion in a two-hour examination, and that they would be fair to candidates.

No difficulties

“I am pleased to report to the committee that the reports from teachers and candidates on the 2017 junior cycle English examinations set by SEC show that they were executed without any issues arising, and no difficulties were experienced by candidates in respect of completion time.”

Mr Farrell said the commission was not responsible for papers used in mock exams, which were often produced on a commercial basis.

“As with any other commercially-produced educational service or product, such as school textbooks, both the SEC and Department [of education] consider that it is not appropriate for a State agency to comment on the quality of either the papers or the quality of the marking service provided. Indeed, to do so would certainly constitute inappropriate interference.”

He said a range of sample papers were produced by the commission and were made available to teachers and students in advance of the exam.

Ms O’Sullivan, who was not present at the committee, said that while the exam passed without incident, she felt disappointed at the response of authorities.

Concerns of students

“I felt little consideration to the request to add time or change the exam in any way was made,” she said.“I know in the future lots of other exams are going to change, and it will be difficult for the department to get every exam right. However, if they’re not listening to the experience and concerns of students and teachers then creating a fair means of assessment becomes even more difficult.”

She also expressed concern at the lack of guidance available in advance to prepare students for exams. “It was especially important for students to be prepared for English this year as it was their first ever State exam,” she said, adding that many students entered their exam centre “very stressed and feeling unprepared”.