‘Intense stress and pressure’: OECD report may provide signpost for Leaving Cert reform

For decades there’s been talk of reforming the Leaving Cert and the CAO points system. It is, most agree, too narrow, inflexible, stressful and doesn’t capture the wide range of students’ intelligence.

But despite numerous reform plans, we’ve stuck with it. Why? For all its flaws, it carries significant cultural and social weight. It is a rite of passage, a symbol of identity and a high-stakes filter for entry into third level.

Yet, in recent years, the unthinkable has happened. Exams were replaced with a system of grades based mainly on teachers’ estimates in 2020. The following year, students were able to avail of this option along with sitting written exams. On the face of it, the system seemed to work relatively well.

To get an independent take on how the “emergency” system worked, however, the Department of Education commissioned a review from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic and Social Development (OECD), an influential body behind the Pisa league tables of international educational achievement.

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[ Repeating the Leaving Cert: a decision not to be taken lightly ]

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The resulting report provides a fascinating outside view on the strengths and weaknesses of the Leaving Cert. In doing so, it may provide a signpost for the direction of future reform. Here are some of its key takeaways:

1. A ‘high performing’ but ‘high pressure’ system

Ireland stands out internationally as a high-performing education system with excellent reading scores, strong school completion rates and some of the highest proportions of third-level education in the world.

However, students report lower levels of overall life satisfaction and “intense stress and pressure”. The fear of failure is one source of anxiety, with Irish teens more likely to worry about their plans for the future.

It notes that Leaving Cert exam results are used for an especially “selective” model of entry to third level which is “particularly competitive” due to the lack of more vocational options and the high numbers of school leavers who want to go third level.

“Students in Ireland are competing… with a very large share of the student cohort, which makes entrance competitive. Every single mark in the Leaving Certificate can be critical for students and their chances of getting a place in their desired institution and programme,” it notes.

2. Many marks still based on high-stakes written exams

It is common elsewhere to use a combination of different sources of information about student learning to assess students for certification at the end of secondary school.

While there has been a move towards more project work in the Leaving Cert, core subjects such as English and maths are still assessed through external written exams. This made it more challenging in Ireland to devise alternative assessment models during Covid compared to other counties.

[ What impact will the 2023 Leaving Cert results have on the CAO? ]

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The influence of written exams partly reflects the historic tradition of the Leaving Cert. However, it limits space for the development of broader competencies and socio-emotional skills that are “critical for young people’s lifelong learning”.

3. Emergency solutions during Covid worked – and reduced student anxiety

For students, teacher-estimated grades reduced anxiety and allowed use of other assessment approaches. For teachers and schools, their empowerment was critical to deal with the emergency solutions.

And for the wider education system, it demonstrated strong collaboration and consensus in decision-making on alternatives to the Leaving Cert exams

4. Teacher-estimated grades could work in future

Teacher-estimated grades were comparable with pre-pandemic achievement, while standardisation helped alleviate grade inflation to some extent. The development of teacher-moderation capacities, grounded in best-practice research, “could contribute to an agile system capable of reacting to future emergencies”.

However, teacher judgment and continuous assessment approaches need to be considered in “light of available resources and support structures”.