Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - State Examinations.

I thank the Chair for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue, which is causing extreme concern. Essentially, this is the thin edge of the wedge. Under pressure, the Government has not been willing to defend its examinations system and put in place a system which will have the confidence of students and parents alike. The Minister has decided instead to downgrade the correcting of examination scripts by engaging third level students who do not possess the necessary sensitivity or experience of dealing with subjects. Everyone knows that it takes years to gain the experience and skills necessary to evaluate examination scripts fairly. One cannot adequately coach an undergraduate or post-graduate student to do this in a few hours. In adopting this approach we will effectively have correction by numbers in the same way as we used to have painting by numbers. It will be very basic and will undermine the possibility of students indicating that they have grasped a subject fully and receiving proper credit.

It is disappointing that in trying to defend it the Minister has suggested that it is all right to adopt this approach as it will only apply to civic, social and political education, a subject that is badly needed. Public confidence in the civic, social and political systems is at an all-time low. Students should be properly familiar with such important and crucial issues as the political system dealing with the problem of refugees. It is, therefore, irresponsible for the Minister to suggest that this is a doss subject which can be corrected in any way he chooses. He is setting back the education system and the careful work done by teachers and the curriculum board in putting this subject together to ensure students receive a grounding in a wider range of subjects.

I worry that home economics will be next to be followed gradually by others. It should not be forgotten that one in five students will only sit the junior certificate examination. It is their passport to advancement. For the Minister to downgrade the correction of that examination in this way is a slap in the face for them. I almost find it incomprehensible that in the face of demands to change the structure of the examination so that it is based on project and teamwork throughout the school year rather than memory retention in order to broaden the opportunity to learn – many of those who comment on the education system have been crying out for this – the Department has insisted on the terminal examination approach, but when it comes to the acid test it is not willing to provide the necessary resources to ensure it is corrected fairly and properly by those who possess the required experience and competence.

This is a very disappointing day for the education system. It is a pity the Minister is not present to account for his stewardship. It seems that he is happy to talk about the matter on radio but is not willing to come into the House to defend the indefensible. I have no doubt that the Minister of State, who is in an unenviable position, will read a supplied script about invigilation procedures and the various checks and balances but the reality is that if one does not have experienced teachers – the Minister of State is an experienced teacher – one will not have the breadth of testing and examining required. This is particularly true in subjects such as civic, social and political education in which one is required to draw on one's experiences and on what one has picked up from newspapers. This cannot be reduced, as the Minister suggested, to simple options such as, "Who is the President of Ireland? Is it Mary McAleese or Bertie Ahern?" The Minister is trivialising an important issue.

I thank the Chair for giving me the opportunity to raise the issue. I hope the Minister of State will give us the benefit of her experience in delivering the supplied script.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is important to make it clear at a time when students are undertaking their examinations that leaving certificate examination scripts will be marked this year by fully qualified exam iners appointed on precisely the same basis as in all previous years. The Minister for Education and Science finds it regrettable that at a time when students are taking their examinations any public representative should seek to create needless anxiety among students and their parents through misinformation.

The only change this year is in the case of the junior certificate examination. This has involved the creation of a panel of potential examiners drawn from the third level sector, graduate and undergraduate, to cater for any shortage of examiners at junior certificate level. The number of potential examiners is under the greatest pressure in the case of civic, social and political education and, to a lesser extent, home economics. CSPE is a new and additional subject which replaced the former civics. It is an extremely important subject which is compulsory for the first time this year for more than 60,000 students. This increased the number of examiners required to almost 200. We do not have a cohort of experienced correctors as this is the first time it is being corrected for such a large number of students. In addition, the number of teachers making themselves available to examine junior certificate home economics has been a problem since the introduction of a practical component in that subject—

The subject has been taught for three years.

—which is examined by more than 300 teachers in April each year, most of whom are reluctant to undertake further work in late June and July.

The essential point is that examiners at all levels attend intensive marking conferences prior to commencing their work. Continuous monitoring takes place during the marking process. All persons selected to examine must demonstrate in the first scripts marked by them a capacity to mark fully in accordance with the marking scheme for the subject, otherwise they are replaced. Monitoring continues on all examiners right through the process. The quality of the marking process is demonstrated by the fact that this is one of the few countries in the world prepared to allow students to scrutinise their own marked scripts and have access to the marking scheme used.

The Minister for Education and Science also wants to state that the Department had extensive discussions during the year with both teacher unions in relation to the fee rates paid to examiners. The Minister increased rates for examining by 11% on average. Examiners of junior certificate CSPE, for example, can expect to earn over £1,200 on average. It remains the case, however, that many teachers are simply not interested in examining during their holiday period or have a preference to act as examination superintendents.

Overall, the marking process for the written papers in the junior and leaving certificate examinations involves more than 3,500 examiners. Practical, project and oral examinations involve 3,000 examiner appointments. The reality is that up to one in three second level teachers are involved in some aspect of examining. A further 5,500 teachers are involved in the supervision of the examinations, including the supervision of special needs students in individual centres and hospitals. This means that over 60% of the teaching profession is involved in examination work, mostly during vacation periods.

Our heavy reliance on external examinations, whether written, oral, practical or project, inevitably means that there is a pressure on the supply of examiners because of the huge numbers required. To protect against shortfall, the Department of Education and Science conducted a second advertising campaign in the national press and in all second level schools. The Minister believes it is prudent for the Department to take the additional step of canvassing the third level sector to provide a reserve panel for any shortfall that might still occur. Students deserve the reassurance that their papers will be corrected in the proper manner.

Top
Share