The Leaving Certificate, which begins this morning, continues to occupy a towering place in the Irish education landscape. There is much that is good about the exam. As the Taoiseach points out in an article in today's edition, the Leaving is highly respected internationally.
According to a British study two years ago, the academic standard of the exam compares favourably with the A-level system in key subjects such as English and maths. Irish students, of course, take seven or more subjects in the Leaving, compared with just two or three by their counterparts in Britain.
There has been much discussion in recent weeks about the supposed "dumbing down" of the exam, amid evidence of some grade inflation in several subjects. But these allegations are unfair to students and their teachers. As John White of ASTI noted this week, students are working harder and smarter. They should be congratulated on their improved performance, instead of being told that standards are dropping.
For all that, it has been clear for some time that the Leaving Cert is in need of reform. In today's article, Mr Ahern points to the key weakness of the exam - its emphasis on rote learning. There is, he says, a need to strike a better balance "between being able to remember a lot of information and being able to analyse what you know". The problem is particularly acute in maths. A recent report from maths teachers at third level pointed to the lack of understanding of basic maths among a huge number of students, many of whom had achieved very good grades at higher level in the Leaving Cert exam.
The chief examiner in maths from the State Exams Commission has also pointed to a disturbing pattern, where students memorise a huge volume of information but often lack the capacity to analyse it in any meaningful way.
Mr Ahern clearly favours a new type of exam where there is a greater focus on practical work. Some progress has already been achieved. The much-criticised history syllabus, for example, has been replaced by a more modern, user-friendly course where students can gain up to 20 per cent for their own project work. Similar changes have been introduced in the geography course. It is to be hoped that these will serve as a template for course revision across a wider range of subjects.
On a practical level, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin is also moving to help reduce the huge stress on students. From next year, Paper 1 in both English and Irish - which focus on essays and unseen texts - are likely be scheduled in May, as part of the Minister's plan for a two-stage Leaving Cert exam. More could be done to relieve the levels of stress. Why, for example, are students still required to take two subjects like French and biology on the same day next week? That said, the Government deserves some credit for the syllabus and timetable reforms. These are sensible and pragmatic reforms which do not undermine the high status of the exam.