Leaving appeals result in upgrade for 20%

One in five of those who appealed their Leaving Cert grades has secured an upgrade, according to figures released by the State…

One in five of those who appealed their Leaving Cert grades has secured an upgrade, according to figures released by the State Exams Commission.

Candidates will receive the results of their appeals today either through their school or through the online results service on www.examinations.ie

The high number of upgrades will raise new questions about the manner in which exams papers are corrected.

A total of 5,635 candidates made applications for appeals against 10,135 grades leading to 2,063 upgrades.

READ MORE

In the processing of appeals, the work of each candidate is fully re-marked question by question using the original marking scheme. The re-marking is performed by a different examiner to the one who originally marked the work.

Candidates may opt to view their re-marked scripts. Candidates are required to complete the application form that accompanies the appeal results and to return it through the school that entered them for examination by Friday, October 12th.

Externally entered candidates should return the form directly to the SEC. All such applications must be with the SEC by 5pm on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007.

The viewing will be held in the Athlone office of the SEC on Saturday, October 20th, between 10am and 4pm.

Candidates who are dissatisfied with the outcome of their appeal have recourse to the Independent Appeals Scrutineers.

The scrutineers' role is to ensure that due process has been followed in the case of each appeal and that all of the appeal procedures were properly carried out.

The scrutineers are independent of the State Examinations Commission and they have the power to request from the SEC all documentation relating to an appeal in conducting their investigations.

Seán Flynn

Seán Flynn

The late Seán Flynn was education editor of The Irish Times