This issue has been raised in a number of reports (Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs on Raising National Mathematical Achievement and the Report of the Project Maths Implementation Support Group) and the Department of Education and Skills and the State Examinations Commission considered response is that this proposal could lead to an unsound educational experience for students. The Ordinary Level syllabus and Higher Level syllabus are both designed to be covered over a two year period. It could be a considerable challenge to encourage those who followed an Ordinary Level syllabus in year one of the cycle to take Higher Level in year 2. There is a strong risk they would not take Mathematics at all the second year. By the time these students reach further studies, they could have had an entire year without any mathematics at all, and would therefore be in a worse position than they had been a year earlier. It is interesting to note that for the 2012 Leaving Certificate cohort, the Higher Education Institutions participating in the CAO scheme introduced a measure to award 25 additional points for all grades from D3 to A1 in Higher-Level Mathematics. Their measure led to a significant increase in the numbers of Leaving Certificate candidates taking Higher Level Mathematics in 2012. It now stands at 22.1% of the Mathematics candidature (compared to 15.8% in 2011).