Leaving Cert Q&A: I am not happy with my results. What are my next steps?
The Important All Through The Points Sam Boal/rollingnews About Including Results, Process Jess Casey Ie Picture: Appeal Talks Today's
This morning, all students will see just one set of results. If they opted for a mix of both exams and accredited grades, they will see whichever they scored higher in. Students or their schools will not know until next Tuesday if this result is from an accredited grade or an exam.
Across the board, and across all subjects, grade inflation is up at 2.6%. However, a certain degree of caution is urged with this figure. Last year, when grade inflation was estimated at 4.4%, some students were disappointed to see this seemingly not apply to their results. There are going to be fluctuations per subject and per level, as there is every year.
The number of top marks, H1s, increased across the board for 2021. In terms of accredited grades, school-based estimates were higher this year than last year’s calculated grades. About one in four of these results were changed during the standardisation process. Almost 6% were brought up by the process, and 16.9% moved down.
Just 185 students sat the exams and did not receive any accredited grades. Just over 5,000 students receiving results this year relying entirely on accredited grades and did not sit any exams. The vast majority of students, 52,680, opted for a mix.
This year, 3,173 students took their final stage examinations in the two-year Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme. The results for LCA students differ from those of their Leaving Cert counterparts as they receive a single award. This year, 1,611 distinctions were awarded.
A further 13,532 candidates received results in the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP), which sees students taking a specified range of established subjects as well as a programme called the Links Modules.
Next Tuesday, September 7, at 5pm, students will be provided with detailed information about their exams and accredited grades. As this is also the day of CAO first round offers, students will need this data if they are considering an appeal.
The Candidate Self Service Portal will give students access to their written examination component marks and final marks, as well as access to their accredited grades estimated marks and accredited marks. Students can also apply to view their marked examination scripts, view their scripts online, and make an application to appeal.
You can apply to view your scripts and you can appeal, but there are a few key dates you need to keep in mind. Applications to view your scripts can only be made through the Candidate Self Service Portal between 5pm on Tuesday, September 7 and 8pm on Wednesday, September 8.
Viewing of scripts marked on paper will take place in schools on Saturday, September 11 from 9am to 5pm, with an additional optional session, at the discretion of the school, on the morning of Sunday, September 12. Candidates will be able to access the published marking schemes, whether the subject was marked on paper or online on examinations.ie.
As with calculated grades, an appeal for an assessed grade will be confined to making sure the data was uploaded and downloaded correctly during the process. Applications for appeals will also open at 9am on Saturday, September 11, and close at 12pm on Monday September 13.
We don't know yet when students will get the outcomes of appeals. The State Examinations Commission (SEC) said it is impossible for it to commit to a timeframe until it knows the full number of appeals it will receive.
There are changes every year to the entry requirements for college places. Points change depending on the grades received by applicants, as well as the number of applicants, and the number of places available. A record number of applications have been received by the CAO this year.
An extra 4,650 college places have been created. They include 417 places in health courses including medicine, pharmacy, and nursing; 15 extra places in dentistry; and 23 in veterinary.