This morning marks the beginning of the State exams, a worrying and stressful time for more than 100,000 Leaving and Junior Certificate students and for their parents. The prospects for the Class of 2007 are brighter than for many of their predecessors but the stress bearing down on Leaving Cert students, in particular, as they seek to do themselves justice should not be underestimated.
As reported in today's editions, a higher level student taking seven of the most popular subjects will spend an astonishing 28 hours-plus in the exam hall over the next week. Today, many higher level students in English will write more than 10,000 words during a six-and-a-half hour marathon. The schedule becomes still more punishing in the coming week when students must tackle two very diverse subjects (like business and history) in the one day.
This is an unreasonable timetable which tests the mental and the physical endurance of candidates to the limit. Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin sought to ease the pressure last year by suggesting a new two-stage exam where the unseen papers in Irish and English could be taken earlier in the year. It was a sensible and well-judged proposal but it failed to muster support from the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) and the other main school management bodies. The JMB, which manages most second-level schools, believed the Hanafin plan would present huge logistical difficulties for schools. And while it is true that there are problems - in terms of the potential disruption to the routine life of schools - in establishing some 4,000 exam centres, this does not obviate the need for long overdue timetable reform, as Ms Hanafin insisted last night.
A proposal yesterday by the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) may point the way forward. The TUI wants the State Exams Commission to spread the exam workload more evenly across the three-week exam period. In particular, it suggests that core subjects - Irish, English and maths - should be spread out rather than being packed into the first four days of the exam. This is a sensible compromise which for the sake of our students deserves support from the other teacher unions and the school management bodies. Hopefully, the next education minister will continue to press for reform in this area.
In the meantime, there has been controversy in recent days about grade inflation at Leaving Cert level with a new analysis indicating how the numbers gaining honours grades (Grade C or higher on higher level papers) have increased dramatically. However, characterising improved results as a "dumbing down" may be unfair to students and their teachers. As the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) pointed out yesterday, students are working harder and smarter than ever before. And although the Leaving Cert may be a flawed exam which tests only a narrow range of skills, its inherent limitations should not diminish the achievements of those who sit it.