Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 March 2022
69. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the junior cycle examinations; if she will clarify the position regarding same; if she will provide the breakdown of marks to teachers or outline when the State Examinations Commission will be issuing guidance to teachers and students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13323/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy question relates to the marking scheme set out by the State Examinations Commission, SEC, specifically the allocation of marks for geography and history, in order that teachers can advise their students. I would welcome if the Minister could make a statement on the matter.
The first phase of junior cycle reform began in 2014 with the introduction of a new specification in junior cycle English, which was first examined in 2017. New specifications in junior cycle science and business studies were introduced in August 2016 and first examined in 2019. The new specifications for the modern foreign languages and Irish were introduced in August 2017 and were due for assessment for the first time in 2020. Junior cycle geography, history, home economics, music and mathematics were introduced in schools in 2018 and were due for assessment in 2021.
The State Examinations Commission published sample papers in autumn 2021 for the subjects in the fifth and final phase of junior cycle reform, which will be examined for the first time in 2022. These are religious education, classics, wood technology, engineering, graphics and applied technology. While all new specifications are now being taught in schools, due to the pandemic, the junior cycle examinations in both 2020 and 2021 were not held for school-based candidates. The majority of new specifications will, therefore, be examined, at scale, for the first time in 2022.
The SEC advises that, as has long been the case at junior cycle level, the level of detail on examination papers relating to mark allocations may vary from subject to subject. In some cases, mark allocations are shown for questions, sections or the entire paper, and some papers provide guidance as to the length of time to be spent on particular questions. It is important to note that these are no-choice examination papers and candidates are required to answer all questions on the examination paper. In addition, the examination papers are in a completion booklet format, and the space provided for the candidate responses provides an indication to candidates of the length of the response required. The structure and format of the papers are of assistance to teachers in preparing candidates in their preparation for the examinations.
In line with long-standing practice, and in the interests of fairness, the SEC does not provide marking schemes for sample papers as the marking scheme cannot be finalised in the absence of a review of candidate work produced under live examination conditions. The SEC advises that it would not be appropriate to draw any inferences from any marking scheme for a sample paper regarding how any subsequent live paper might be marked. The SEC will publish the marking schemes at the time of issue of the provisional examination results. This can assist candidates who are considering whether they may wish to appeal these provisional results, and provides clarity to candidates and their teachers regarding how the work produced was evaluated.
I wholeheartedly congratulate the Minister on the terrific announcement yesterday that 310 schools have been brought under the delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, programme. That €32 million investment will make a major difference to many thousands of students throughout the country.
As somebody who not only taught history of art but corrected it for the SEC, I am acutely aware that the marking scheme is very important for teachers in giving accurate advice to students on time spent on questions. In my experience, that was available to us in history of art at pre-examination level and for corrections. It is very important for teachers to have that guidance to enable them to give correct information to their students about how much time they should spend on questions. I again ask the Minister to examine this, especially for history and geography. We should not be precluded from saying teachers should be given that guidance. As I said, we had it for history of art and I do not see why it should not be the same for geography and history.
Consequent to the pandemic of the past two years, exams that should have taken place, including for students who were being examined for the first time, did not take place and are open for assessment now. It is in line with long-standing practice and in the interests of fairness that the SEC does not provide marking schemes for sample papers as a marking scheme cannot be finalised in the absence of a review of a candidate's work produced under live examination conditions. The commission advised that it would not be appropriate to draw any inference from any marking scheme on a sample paper as it may not reflect the live paper.
The commission will publish the marking schemes at the time of issue of the provisional examination results. This will assist candidates who are considering whether they may wish to appeal these provisional results. It is important to note that there are no-choice examination papers and candidates are required to answer all the questions on the examination paper. In addition, the examination papers are in completion booklet format and the space provided to the candidate is indicative of the amount the candidate is required to write to answer that question.
I acknowledge the points the Deputy made but the NCCA is making the point that a live exam will determine the final marking.
The expectation was raised in 2021 and 2020 when the NCCA issued a number of junior certificate sample questions online. These clearly stated that each question is not weighted the same in the marking scheme. That raised the expectation and the hope that clarity could be given around that to give teachers an ample opportunity to give guidance to their students. It is a difficult time for teachers and students and, as the Minister said, we have come through a difficult time in education because of the pandemic. With the first State examinations since and some sort of normality approaching, there is an eagerness among teachers to give their students as much advice and guidance around those exams as they can.
I appreciate the Minister's clarity on the question. We will endeavour to give our teachers as much clarity as possible closer to the time.
I again acknowledge the enormous body of work that has been undertaken by teachers and students. I am particularly conscious that for the first time in two years we will have junior cycle exams in this third year. We welcome that. I also appreciate the workload of teachers and their ambition for their students to maximise their abilities and achievements on the paper. I also want to be fair about it. This is not a choice examination paper. It is in booklet form. A certain number of lines are given that are indicative of the amount of time and space that needs to be given to an answer. Equally, the point made by the NCCA is that work produced under live examination conditions ultimately determines the marking scheme. That is appropriate as that has been a long-standing practice. Nonetheless, I wish all students, and staff who are supporting them at this time, the very best. Great work is being done in schools.
Is the Acting Chairperson taking Questions Nos. 71 and 72 together? They are on the same issue.
They are not grouped together. We will stick with Question No. 71.
