The predicted grades of teachers will now carry more weight under changes to the Leaving Cert marking scheme this year.
The Department of Education puts all estimated grades submitted by schools through a series of checks and balances, with a school's previous performance originally set to be taken into consideration.
Education Minister Norma Foley has now decided against using the controversial method of taking a school's previous academic performance into account for awarding marks, following the practice causing backlash in the UK when A-level results were published.
Former education advisor John Walsh says there will be still be a standardisation process: “We’re not relying totally on the predicted marks of the teachers, there still will be a standardisation process used, it just won’t take into account to the same extent the grades achieved in previous years.”
“It will look obviously at the Junior Certificate, that’s a good indication, it’ll also take into account other factors, I mean gender.”
Inflated grades
It is expected that the new method will result in inflated grade and increase demand for certain college courses.
Social Democrats education spokesperson Gary Gannon says many students will benefit: “There wasn’t really clear guidelines given to teachers back in April when this was announced.
“Some teachers may very well have been more generous than other teachers. Nobody’s going to lie, but there may be a little bit of an exaggeration of the truth across the spectrum.”
With less than a week until Leaving Cert results are to be issued, the Cabinet is due to sign off today on the algorithm for determining grades and a plan that will boost the number of available college places.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said he hoped places could be increased on the way into today's meeting: “I am working with Government colleagues to see if we can, in a targeted way, increase the number of college places available.
“It’s a good thing to try and get more people into education but I also think it would be a good dividend in support of the aftermath of Covid.”
Both the Education Minister and Higher Education Minister will provide an update on matters this afternoon.
