Róisín Shortall
Question:285 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science if extra examination time and-or marking allowances for poor English will be granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32322/01]
Written Answers. - State Examinations.
One of the recommendations of the expert advisory group on certificate examinations was that the time element of examinations should be made less critical in the future in order to better accommodate candidates who have a difficulty with time. In response to this recommendation an extension of time has been made available to all candidates in a number of the more time critical papers in the leaving certificate examination.
In the interests of equity and fairness across the entire body of candidates and to ensure the credibility of the examination system, the work done by students must ultimately be assessed according to the same strictly objective criteria. This is achieved by having a common marking scheme apply to the work of all candidates in a subject. At the same time every effort is made to ensure that full credit is given in accordance with the marking scheme for the work done.
My Department instructs all examiners who have a difficulty in accessing the information given by a candidate to refer the script to their supervising examiner. This approach is intended to ensure that, notwithstanding any presentational or readability difficulties, every effort is made by the examiner to ensure that the candidate is given credit for all work done.