LEAVING CERT RESULTS:ATTENTION IS expected to focus on student performance in maths and science when the Leaving Certificate results are published tomorrow.
Last year, more than 4,300 students failed maths in the exam, while failure rates in science subjects at both higher and ordinary level were worryingly high.
There is little optimism in education circles that the crisis in maths will ease this year.
Attention will also focus on results in Leaving Cert higher maths after criticism this year’s paper was “grossly unfair” to students.
In June, one maths teacher said he would struggle to complete the paper, which he described as a “shambles”. Subsequently, maths teachers called on the State Exams Commission to ensure the paper was marked in a lenient fashion.
In a further disturbing trend, the number of students registered to take higher level maths in this year’s exam (just over 10,000) reached a record low this year.
In all, only about 16 per cent of Leaving Cert students took higher maths in June – by far the lowest figure for any higher level subject. In contrast, 64 per cent of students took higher level English and 77 per cent took higher level geography last year.
The Government will hope results in the new “user friendly” Project Maths Leaving Cert course will deliver more encouraging results. As part of a pilot, Project Maths was taken by almost 2,000 pupils in 24 schools before being rolled out to all schools by 2014.
The focus on results in maths comes amid increasing concern about overall standards in the subject. In international OECD rankings, the performance of Irish teenagers in maths has fallen from 16th to 26th place, the second steepest decline among participating countries. Ireland is now ranked as below average in maths.
After the publication of the exam results, attention will switch to next Monday when the Central Applications Office (CAO) will publish is first round offers.
Points required for entry to third-level courses in science, technology and engineering are set to increase this year as students opt for courses with better job prospects.
Points for some degree courses – in teaching, business and in the arts and humanities area – could fall amid sluggish demand from students.
Yesterday , the CAO – which oversees college entry for more than 70,000 students – said it had increased security measures in order to safeguard against any possible attacks on its website.
Last August there were two alleged cyber attacks on the website which resulted in restricted access for thousands of Leaving Cert students checking the first round of course offers.
It has still not been established who was behind last year’s attacks, which were investigated by the Garda.
Speaking to The Irish Times, CAO operations manager Joe O'Grady said that while the organisation could not guarantee against another attack, substantial changes had been made to the website in the wake of a comprehensive review into security procedures.
Mr O’Grady refused to go into specific details regarding the new measures but said that users could be assured that every precaution had been taken to ensure continuity of service.
The CAO received over 75,000 applications from students this year, and Mr O’Grady said he expected that between 50,000 and 60,000 third-level applicants would use the organisation’s website in the days following publication of the Leaving Cert results.
The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union yesterday called on the CAO to reduce the fee charged to submit applications for entry to third-level courses after The Irish Times revealed the organisation made a profit of €1.4 million last year.