Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 June 2004
81 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will consider giving students who, due to illness, family bereavement or other such genuine reason miss sitting for a subject or subjects in their leaving certificate examinations, the opportunity of taking the subjects missed during the same academic year thus avoiding another full year at second level. [19470/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn foot of a Government decision, I formally established the State Examinations Commission on 6 March 2003. The commission now has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.
Within the limitations of our examination system, every possible effort is made by the commission to accommodate candidates who suffer illness, bereavement or other trauma immediately before or during the examinations. Each year, arrangements are made to cater for a wide range of emergencies. These include alterations to the standard examination timetable and special sittings in venues such as hospitals. The National Educational Psychological Service also assists schools and students in crisis during examinations.
The leaving certificate is mainly a terminal examination, which is examined by external examiners. This contrasts with examination systems in many other countries where assessment is conducted on a continuous basis or is conducted by the student's own teachers. Where the processes include a significant element of school-based assessment of students, the models provide a template within which there is the data, capacity and flexibility to deal with students who, for genuine reasons beyond their control, are unable to complete the written element of their examinations.
Prior to the establishment of the commission, the Department of Education and Science gave the issue of a repeat leaving certificate consideration over the years because it was raised regularly. The Department concluded that the constraints inherent in a terminal and externally examined examination system, resulted in significant difficulties in regard to the provision of repeat examinations. These constraints derive from: the length of the school year; the timescale required for holding examinations; obtaining sufficient additional suitably qualified persons to act as examiners; providing adequate time for the preparation of marking schemes for the repeat exam papers and arranging for comprehensive briefing and training of examiners; providing ample time for those examiners to conduct the marking to a high standard; the pressing requirement of having results available to feed into the college entry process which is conducted by the CAO and college admissions departments in August each year; and the need for an appeal system for the review of repeat results.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
When one considers that our State examinations currently operate against the tightest of timescales and to maximum capacity in delivering a high quality product at both leaving and junior certificate levels to strict end-users deadlines, it is considered that it would not be possible to hold repeat examinations and have results available to the deadlines required.
However, the future direction of senior cycle education in Ireland is currently under review, and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has published proposals which outline a vision for the type of school system which might exist by 2010. The proposals envisage restructuring of overall senior cycle programmes and subjects into subjects, units and short courses, and provider for an increased emphasis on modes of flexible practical-portfolio-project and continuous assessment, with assessment events spread out across courses of study and available more frequently. Depending on the models finally adopted, this may help reduce the importance of a student's performance in terminal examinations in the future and will enable the issue of repeat examinations to be reconsidered.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. Being a former teacher and a parent, I know the Minister understands the importance of the leaving certificate to pupils because the results of the leaving certificate often determine the future academic career of pupils. At third level, there are opportunities to sit repeat examinations. I, and I am sure the Minister and my colleagues, know of academically gifted pupils who for some reason or other — perhaps injury, illness or family bereavement — miss an exam or two. That they cannot repeat that exam within the academic year means they must spend another year in the secondary school cycle which throws everything back a year. I know the State Examinations Commission has the ultimate responsibility but I ask the Minister if he will look favourably on it considering the feasibility of providing an opportunity of holding a repeat exam at a central location, such as Athlone or Dublin, for pupils who miss out on an examination.
I remember when I did my exams, as I am sure does the Minister and perhaps my colleagues — I do not know about Deputy Enright — there was the matriculation. If one failed or did not turn up for one of the leaving certificate examinations, one had the safety net of the matriculation in the mainstream subjects. That safety net is no longer there. Pupils in other jurisdictions probably have the opportunity to repeat, which is important.
Each year a certain percentage of pupils miss out. The exam could be held in a central location. There are bound to be back-up papers. There must be a bank of questions. If a paper is inadvertently given out, there is certainly a back-up one. It is not impossible if the will is there to do it. Will the Minister contact the State Examinations Commission and ask it to look seriously at the feasibility of providing this facility? It would mean so much to so many pupils who spend two years preparing assiduously for the leaving certificate and, through no fault of their own, miss an exam or two.
I do not disagree with the Deputy in regard to the trauma involved if something happens. I had experience of it in this year's leaving certificate in the case of two young people I knew. One young person's mother died on the morning of an examination but the State Examination Commission carried on the fine tradition of the Department in trying to facilitate the individual. The girl was brave enough to go ahead and sit the exam, although I realise she may not do as well in her exam as perhaps she would under normal circumstances. I have outlined a host of reasons this proposal was rejected previously. It is fair to say that as long as we continue to have a leaving certificate examination as is, those reasons will not change, principally, although not least, because of the CAO system we operate.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is carrying out a review of the leaving certificate and will put forward various suggestions in that regard. One of the benefits of a change in the leaving certificate would be that it would allow prior assessments and judgments on a person's abilities rather than as at present where one is totally dependent on a terminal exam. In the context of the NCCA report — I hope to have the initial part of that report soon, although I will have the full report by the end of the year — I will undertake to look at this question again in light of the case the Deputy made.
I thank the Minister. Without being patronising, he has been innovative in several areas. Many opportunities are provided for students to sit their leaving certificate examination, including in hospital beds and so on. This would be one final step towards completing the circle.
When the then Minister originally announced the appeals system for the leaving certificate, it caused consternation throughout the system, yet it has worked pretty well. I will bear the Deputy's point in mind, however.
