"Even England, with the grammar schools, and their so-called ‘academies’ where all the brainiest and brightest and whoever has the richest daddies are sent, have to sit an entrance exam.”

A teacher for 43 years, based in Dungarvan, Waterford, Mr McGrath says he’s never felt as disillusioned with teaching as he does now. This is because he believes planned changes to the Leaving Cert run the risk of undermining educational standards to disastrous levels.

Our education system around the world is recognised for being fair and honest. It’s a student and their brain and a pencil against the clock, and daddy isn’t able to help. 

Mr McGrath is one of thousands of teachers protesting outside schools across the country today in a bid to delay changes to the Leaving Cert.

Upwards of 30,000 teachers, members of both the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), are expected to take part in the nationwide demonstration.

The unease amongst teachers about Senior Cycle redevelopment has been prompted by plans to ‘accelerate’ changes, announced last year by Education Minister Norma Foley. Teachers say they are “gravely concerned” that aspects of the plan threaten academic standards and fairness for students. 

There are also concerns that the current system has the capacity to roll out such major changes, and around the existential threat posed by AI and the infinite possibilities it creates when it comes to plagiarising.

What is the Department proposing? 

Those working on reform say the Leaving Cert in its current form puts enormous pressure on students, and that there is a need to move away from the high-stakes exams solely based in June. They point out that, even with acceleration, it will be 2031 before all subjects are reformed. 

All subjects are to be revised, and will incorporate new projects, called additional assessment components (AACs), with a minimum of 40% of available marks.

The Department of Education believes these AACs will broaden the range of skills that can be assessed, in theory recognising different types of learning while also reducing an emphasis on the written exams in June. 

Existing 'practical' components to LC

Currently, the majority of the 41 Leaving Cert subjects include at least a second component already comparable enough to an ACC. These take various forms such as orals and listening tests in the language subjects, or practical tests, performances, and coursework, such as in art, home economics or music.

A Department of Education spokesman said AACs “will help students who believe they do not perform as well in written exams — and will lessen the pressure they experience by providing them with other ways to demonstrate their learning before June of sixth year.”

The rollout of changes is due to begin next September in stages, launching first with biology, physics, chemistry and business. 

However, science teachers are especially concerned about the proposed AACs, which will take the form of individual lab experiments, according to Mr McGrath. He is worried about fairness, as the project will be worth 40%. 

He doubts it will be possible to ensure equity amongst students. His school shares four science labs amongst 1,100 students.

“We’ve only one computer lab for over 1,100 pupils. Where is the equity in that? 

"The private schools will spend the money, they’ll have the lab facilities, they’ll hire lab technicians. 

Going forward, the well-off will be getting the H1s and the poor guy with the brain and no resources and no funding will get 60%. 

"Sixty percent is all I can prepare my students for from next September.”

“We’re going to have all the high-powered schools getting all the lads going on to medicine, and they won’t be coming from the ordinary, free education school down the road where a child does the best he can. We’d need billions spent on the education system to be capable of doing a laboratory-based assessment in the three sciences.”

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it is not intended that these investigations are solely restricted to lab-based work.

“The Department is actively examining how schools can be best supported in the roll-out of the redevelopment programme. This will include considering any resource and facilities’ needs ahead of the introduction of revised specifications.”

However, physics teacher John Conneely agrees that the AACs are a “major sticking point” for teachers.

In theory, the allocation of these marks could work in skills-based assessments, he said.

“This is currently the case in music which is assessed by an external examiner. 

However, for the science subjects, where skills are assessed indirectly through a laboratory based research report, it is inappropriate. The work may not be entirely the student’s work. It could even be done by generative AI.

“It could also be the work of maybe a very helpful parent, or the work of a grinds teacher but the AI is a huge concern.” The Irish Science Teachers Association (ISTA) commissioned research on this, he explained.

“It found that this type of report could be done almost exclusively by AI in a few minutes and could generate pretty much most of the marks. We can’t see how it’s feasible.”

The allocation of 40% of marks overall to the AAC is too much, he believes. “This type of indirect report-based assessment favours already advantaged students and will serve to further disadvantage students in Deis schools.

“Teachers act as advocates for students and someone has to fight their corner. The unfairness of a student who might spend a lot of time on a project, is doing it honestly, could be overtaken by somebody who is pressurised for some reason to do it by other means, that’s just not fair. We don’t want to see any students in our care disadvantaged by this and we feel this is a huge issue.”

Guidelines for AACs are due to be published in the coming weeks. According to the department, these will set out the approach for the projects, including the stages and phases to how their requirements in a given subject are to be satisfied.