I propose to take Questions Nos. 120, 133, 213, 218 and 276 together.
A Calculated Grade is a grade that can be provided to students following the combination of school information about a student’s expected performance in an examination and national data available in relation to the performance of students in examinations over a period of time.
A calculated grade results from the combination of two data sets:
- A school-based estimation of an overall percentage mark and ranking to be awarded to a student in a particular subject.
- Data available from the State Examinations Commission – this includes data on past performance of students in each school and nationally.
The combination of these data sets through a process of national standardisation can determine the grade to be awarded to each student in each subject, thereby resulting in a calculated grade.
Full details regarding the operation of the Calculated Grades system, including National Standardisation have been issued to schools and students.
The National Standardisation process used will not impose any predetermined score on any individual or class.
My Department has been engaging with the expertise and professional experience that is available including through the Advisory Group. The calculated grades model has been developed with the advice and expertise of my own Department’s staff, including the professional expertise of the Inspectorate, the State Examinations Commission, the Education Research Centre as well as an international expert, Dr. Fernando Cartwright, formerly of Statistics Canada.
An independent Steering Committee chaired by Dr. Áine Lawlor, former Director of the Teaching Council, will oversee the quality and integrity of the calculated grades system.