Vol. 542 No. 2
531 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the high percentage rate of leaving certificate students who sought a recheck of their grades; and if this indicates that there is something seriously wrong with the original correction system. [23919/01]
The percentage appeal rate is in fact very low. At this year's leaving certificate examination approximately 390,000 grades were issued to candidates. The number of grades appealed was 8,955, which represents only about 2% of the grades awarded. This is a very small proportion of the total grades awarded and reflects the fact that our examination system is acknowledged to be one of the most open, transparent and pro-candidate national examination systems in the world.
A cornerstone of the openness and transparency of the system is the access candidates have to their marked examination scripts and the detailed marking schemes that were applied to them. As a result, candidates are in a position to inform themselves regarding the accuracy of the marking and then to make an informed decision regarding the need to appeal. Clearly because students have an opportunity to view their scripts, the likelihood is that only those who believe that there are reasonable grounds for an appeal will seek one. This is reflected in the fact that since the introduction of the viewing option the number of appeal applications has reduced significantly.
In the processing of appeals, the work of each candidate is fully marked question by question. A fundamental feature of the appeal process is that a different examiner to the one who originally marked the work performs remarking.
