Jess Casey: Unprecedented circumstances shaped Leaving Cert 2021
Students This Ie Their Leaving Discovering The Examinations File Certificate Morning Picture Online Be Results On Will Portal
Ireland is unique in terms of how much choice it gave students in their final assessments this year, so it's worth remembering the unprecedented circumstances that led us here.
The decision to offer a two-track approach to Leaving Cert 2021 was made during a cold, dark February in the midst of the worst wave of Covid-19 to hit our shores.
Schools had shut again, meaning sixth years were missing even more in-person class time on top of the days they lost last year during the initial lockdown. Tensions were quite high, but no one really wanted a repeat of calculated grades, the much-maligned system introduced for students in 2020 as an emergency measure.
But, with each passing day, it became clearer that some form of backup assessment would be needed, particularly given the unfortunate likelihood some students would not have the option of sitting exams due to Covid-19. The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) had been advocating for students to be given the choice between sitting their exams, opting for some form of predicted grades, or both.
Ultimately, this was what was offered to students, meaning another new system had to be assembled this year combining elements of the traditional Leaving Cert, along with elements introduced in 2020 under calculated grades.
Unlike with calculated grades, legislation was introduced to give the State Examinations Commission (SEC) the authority to run both the exams and the system of what was now termed accredited grades. Like calculated grades, accredited grades are based on estimates provided by students' schools. These estimates were then submitted to a standardisation process.
Elements of the code devised for calculated grades were rewritten, and the process was overseen by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The same US-based nonprofit was drafted in last year after errors were discovered in the code used by the Department of Education to standardise students' calculated grades
It goes without saying that running two very complex, very technical, and completely separate and independent processes this year proved to be an enormous challenge. There was a reasonable fear that, by having the option for an accredited grade, students would disengage from school under this approach.
However, the assurances that they would receive the better of the two grades seems to have led the majority to opt for a mix of both. Just over 16% of students sat seven exams, and almost 21% sat six exams. The majority of students opted for a mix of both.
Students who sat both a written exam and opted for an accredited grade in a subject received the same mark in three out of ten cases (31.3%).
A further 16% of students received a higher result in the written paper, and in more than half (52.5%) of cases, the accredited grade they received was higher than the written exam.
In terms of how the written exams ran, there are a couple of factors to keep in mind in terms of contextualising the results.
According to the SEC, because some students opted just for accredited grades in some subjects, the cohort of students this year who opted to sit exams is not fully representative of the cohort in a traditional year.
The SEC also doesn’t know the number of students who might have opted for higher-level over ordinary because they had the assurances of an accredited grade to fall back on if all else failed.
Two rounds of adjustments were also made to this year’s exam papers to account for all the lost face-to-face class time. However, an exam is still an exam, seeking to test students’ knowledge and proficiency.
According to the SEC, the standard of the marking scheme this year wasn’t higher or lower than in previous years. Music practicals and oral exams also took place, albeit under different circumstances this year due to public health restrictions.
In terms of accredited grades, school-based estimates were higher than they were last year. The standardisation process saw one in four school estimates change — 5.9% went up, and 16.9% moved down.
Historical school-by-school data based on past performance in Leaving Certificate exams was not used, but Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate historical data at a national level was used to determine the particular distributions of results that are most likely.
Given the assessment approach this year, the SEC believes that the 2021 exam outcomes are not comparable with the outcomes from previous years.
That being said, the CAO process remains the same as it did in previous years and the effect grade inflation will play on how the courses work out this year remains to be seen.
Under calculated grades, grade inflation across the board was estimated at a record rate of 4.4%. This was devised from a composite scale, and was an average across all subjects, meaning some subjects saw more, others saw less. It was widely acknowledged that it led to soaring entry points for many college courses.
Those who missed out were students who presented results from previous years.
This year, the same figure is estimated at 2.6% — not quite as dramatic as last year, but dramatic all the same. As of now, there isn't a straightforward figure on the number of candidates relying solely on exam results from years prior to 2020.