The Leaving Certificate class of 2002 have produced extremely strong results, despite sitting what were described as some of the toughest papers in recent years. Report by Emmet Oliver and Sean Flynn.
But the results - which will be available this morning - also show high failure rates in science and maths at ordinary level. In another striking feature, almost one in five students failed the ordinary level history paper.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has announced an investigation into why some subjects in the Leaving Cert appear to be marked more harshly than others.
More than 56,000 students sat the exam and honours grades were better than last year's figures in several key areas.
For example, in excess of 75 per cent of higher level English and higher level maths students gained an honour.
Attention will now turn to Tuesday when the CAO issues the first round of third level offers. Most observers believe points will fall across a range of disciplines.
Mr Dempsey's move yesterday comes after criticism in the recent Task Force on the Physical Sciences which supported the commonly-held view among teachers that science subjects are marked harshly.
This may be the reason so many students have been turning away from science subjects. This year 18 per cent of students failed ordinary level chemistry, 19 per cent failed biology and 13 per cent failed physics.
In another worrying development, some 5,000 students failed ordinary level maths - 14.5 per cent of all candidates. In response, Mr Dempsey has asked the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to look at the maths syllabus to examine why the failure rate is so high.
The investigation into the divergence in the marking system will be conducted by Mr Tom Kelleghan of the Education Research Centre at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra. Overall, this year's results are broadly in-line with previous years. The most surprising feature is a strong showing by students in the higher level biology exam - described by one teacher last June as the "toughest students have faced in over 30 years". In the exam students were asked in one question about laboratory experiments on frogs, although it is carried out in virtually no schools.
Despite these difficulties, 73 per cent secured honours - compared to 69 per cent last year - the Department of Education imposes a rigid marking system which allows examiners little flexibility but the Department believes this protects the system from any irregularities. In other results, students performed well in English at both higher and ordinary level.
Meanwhile, ASTI president, Mr PJ Sheehy has said schools must be properly resourced if the crisis in science is to be addressed.
"Reversing this decline is dependent on the adequate provision of resources in second level schools, including modern science and technology facilities and sufficient numbers of trained teachers in the full range of science subjects.
"In addition the availability of a full time guidance counsellor for every 250 students would allow all students access to information about the relevance of science and technology to further education and career options," he said.