LEAVING CERTIFICATE MATHS:"A DIFFICULT exam to get an A1 in" was how some teachers described yesterday's higher level Leaving Certificate Maths Paper 2, but overall it was considered a "delightful" paper for the majority of students.
Aidan Roantree, maths teacher at The Institute of Education in Dublin, reported “surprise and delight” among his students.
“Candidates encountered what is generally considered the easiest paper two in the recent past.”
“Almost every question on this paper was straightforward and did not require candidates to stretch their intellectual abilities. All three geometry questions stand a favourable comparison with the easier questions from previous papers.”
The least popular question on the paper was question six, as it contained a proof that was not expected and the (c) part of the question was tricky, said Roantree.
Elaine Devlin, of De La Salle College, Dundalk, believed that it was a fair paper but found a “major difficulty” with question eight.
Students have an option to choose one of four questions in this section but the majority, according to Devlin, choose question eight, which concerns further calculus.
“This was a very difficult question for most,” Devlin commented. Other choices in the section include groups and vectors.
“Part (c) of eight was very challenging. Some of my students commented that if you wanted to do quite well, the paper was great. If you wanted an A1, you would find it difficult.”
Teacher Brendan Guildea agreed that this was one of the easier exams of recent years. He did point out a “riddle” in question four, part (c).
He also agreed that the further calculus question was a difficult option, and long by comparison with other questions.
About 18 per cent of the Leaving Certificate cohort sat yesterday’s higher level maths paper. A small group of about 1,800 took the new Project Maths exam instead of paper two. Project Maths Paper 1 will be rolled out next year and extended to other schools over the next three years.
The majority of students took ordinary level maths and the consensus was favourable.
“Paper two was universally appreciated by the students,” said Jean Kelly, maths teacher at the Institute of Education. “There was very little on the paper to challenge or confuse. The questions were presented in a clear and unambiguous manner. The topics examined were asked in a manner that was familiar to candidates.”
Kelly criticised the ease of the paper in parts.
“Candidates were given the building blocks for each question and there was little scope for the A grade student to demonstrate their ability to apply extraneous mathematical knowledge.
In short this paper was more accessible, simpler and less challenging than maths papers of recent years.”
Christina Kennedy, of Seamount College in Galway, said that her students were “extremely happy” with yesterday’s exam and found it easier than paper one.
“All students had the chance to experience success with this paper and the high grades were attainable,” she said.
She said the part Cs in some of the early questions were difficult.
