Leaving Cert results 2023: Grades inflated to match last year’s record levels

Tens of thousands of Leaving Cert students’ grades have been artificially adjusted upwards by exam authorities to bring them in line with record high sets of results over recent years.

It follows a surprise direction from Minister for Education Norma Foley who, in July, directed State exam authorities to ensure this year’s grades would be “no lower” on aggregate than last year.

On foot of Ms Foley’s direction, all students’ marked exams this year have been artificially inflated by an average of 7.9 per cent in order to bring them into line with 2022 grades.

This, in turn, pushed 71 per cent of students’ grades upwards.

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It means this year’s students’ grades have matched the record haul of top grades from 2021 and 2022, which were, on average, about 60 points higher than results secured before the pandemic.

Grades surged during the Covid-19 era due to a combination of factors, including the use of teacher-assessed marks.

In all, almost 62,000 Leaving Cert students will be able to access their results online from 10am on Friday morning. CAO offers for college places are due to issue on Wednesday.

Ms Foley had signalled after last year’s results that grades would begin to reduce gradually towards pre-pandemic norms over a number of years.

Her spokesman said yesterday that the decision to keep results at last year’s inflated levels was aimed at “bringing fairness to students” who never sat a State exam before due to the cancellation of Junior Cycle exams for Covid reasons.

[ Leaving Cert 2023: Irish students’ inflated grades increasingly out of line with rest of Europe ]

The move will, however, frustrate university leaders who, in many cases, want a swift return to normality as soon as possible in order to protect the integrity of Leaving Cert grades for entry to college.

A number of senior higher education figures have expressed concern that high grades are making it difficult to differentiate between top candidates, given that so many achieve top marks.

It is likely that colleges will have to use random selection to choose candidates in some high-demand and high points courses.

The move to keep grades inflated will also disadvantage students from Northern Ireland and further afield who have applied for university places here.

A-level results in the UK, for example, are returning to pre-pandemic norms, which means students there are competing with Irish candidates on inflated grades.

Overall, Leaving Cert grades across all levels are, on aggregate, about 7 per cent in advance of those in 2019, as they have been in 2022 and 2021.

[ Key dates for Leaving Cert 2023: Results, script viewing, appeals and offers ]

The extent of inflation in higher level subjects, however, is greater.

For example, a total of 14 per cent H1 grades have been awarded at higher level this year. This compares to 5-6 per cent of H1 grades in the years before the pandemic.

One subject area where top grades dipped this year was in higher level maths. It follows controversy over paper one, which was criticised by many students and teachers as excessively difficult and unfair.

A breakdown of results provided by the State Examinations Commission shows the proportion of students who got a H1 to H3 – traditionally known as an “honour” – fell from 60 per cent last year to 49.5 per cent this year. A very small proportion of students – 0.5 per cent, or 102 candidates – failed the paper and achieved a H8.

In a message to Leaving Cert students, Norma Foley extended the “heartiest of congratulations” to all candidates.

“Today brings enormous reward and recognition for all your hard work and dedication over the past number of years, including through challenging times,” she said.

“This is an exciting occasion in your life, filled with the prospects of the many great and varied opportunities that lie ahead. To all of you receiving results today, I wish you every success and happiness as you embark on the next stage in your life.”