Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 June 2013
130. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the circumstances of the mistakes that were reported in the leaving certificate maths papers; if his Department has carried out an investigation into what happened; if he has taken steps to ensure that the issue does not arise again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28905/13]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission (SEC) has indicated that Question 8, on Monday's Leaving Certificate Maths, Higher Level, Paper 2 contained an error. The SEC has advised me that there were also errors on 3 other Mathematics papers, both Leaving and Junior Certificate, provided to candidates this year. The SEC acknowledges that these errors may have caused confusion and distress for some candidates and has apologised publicly.
One of the key objectives of the SEC is the provision of an examinations system of the highest possible quality. Although the SEC has in place a range of procedures to enhance reliability and to minimise error, it is an unfortunate fact that errors can occur on examination papers from time to time. When errors occur, the SEC must focus on two issues. First, it seeks to ensure that no candidate is disadvantaged as a result of the error. Therefore, the impact of these errors on students' answers will be taken into account by the Chief Examiner when finalising the marking schemes for these exams. The marking schemes will, as usual, be published along with those in all other subjects after the issue of results, in mid-August in the case of the Leaving Certificate and mid-September for Junior Certificate. Leaving Certificate students can view their marked examinations scripts to see how the published marking scheme has been applied to their work, while all students have the option of appealing their results. Then, in the context of the specific error, the SEC reviews its existing processes and procedures in order to implement measures to strengthen the quality assurance underpinning the preparation of examination papers.
I have asked the SEC to report to me on this issue.
