More than half of Leaving Cert students will choose a mix of calculated grades and sitting exams this year, a survey has found.
Research firm iReach found 53 per cent of students are happy to take this combined approach, while only 14 per cent plan to only sit their exams and a third (33 per cent) will take all calculated grades.
Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed last week that Leaving Cert students can choose between receiving a predicted grade or sitting an exam in each subject this year.
Leaving Certificate 2021 examinations will go ahead and students will also have the alternative option of applying for grades accredited by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), to be known as SEC-Accredited Grades.
The survey found that most parents of Leaving Cert students (68 per cent) agreed that this hybrid option gave clarity to the students. This compares to only 39 per cent of all adults in the State.
Some 60 per cent of parents are happy with the combined option, while 56 per cent of Leaving Cert students are happy with the approach.
Meanwhile, a strong majority of Junior Cert students (81 per cent) are happy with the decision to cancel their exams.
Just under half (47 per cent) of Junior Cert parents agree with the cancellation, compared with 51 per cent of all adults in Ireland. More than a third (38 per cent) of Junior Cert parents disagree with this decision.
The nationwide survey ran between February 4th-11th and received over 1,000 responses from adults on a nationally representative basis by age, gender and region.
