Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2020
442. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Education the extent to which the calculation of leaving certificate grades took account of the spelling and grammar waiver and the disability access route to education allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25055/20]
View answerThe decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations.
The design of the Calculated Grades model was informed by advice from a Technical Working Group comprising experts drawn from the State Examinations Commission, the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills, the Educational Research Centre and international external expertise.
The system of calculated grades is underpinned by key principles of objectivity, equity and fairness. The process has been designed to arrive at fair representations of student performance which does not favour any type of student or school.
Circular 0037/2020, which was published on 21 May, set out the detailed guidance for schools on the operation of the calculated grades process. The document provided detailed information on the process of estimating marks for students to receive calculated grades. Additional guidance to schools on the avoidance of unconscious bias and interpreting evidence of achievement in the case of students with disabilities was issued to schools on 28 May.
In line with the guidance, teachers were asked to use their professional judgement to arrive at an estimated mark for each student. The guidance required teachers to utilise a number of records in assessing a student’s performance and progress; for example, classwork and homework; class assessments; examinations in school at Christmas or summer, mock exams and also coursework.
In the case of any approved reasonable accommodations, the estimate of the student’s likely performance was to be based on the assumption that this accommodation would have been available had the examinations been conducted in the normal way. Since examination accommodations are intended to reflect students’ normal way of working in class, this did not require any special intervention beyond the teacher’s understanding of how the student would achieve with the relevant supports in place.
As any approved reasonable accommodations were already provided for in the teacher estimates, this has been reflected in the final calculated grades awarded.
