The Leaving Certificate requires radical reform, according to the majority of respondents to a poll on the website ireland.com
About 75 per cent of respondents said the exam needed to be changed. About 400 people have participated so far in the poll, which started last week. Ireland.com is the website of The Irish Times.
The poll was initiated to test opinion after the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) called for a "fundamental reappraisal" of the exam in the light of wider developments in assessment and education policy. The exam begins this year on June 6th.
Many of the respondents - mainly those who left the education system in recent years - said a wider range of skills should be tested. Also there was strong support for some type of continuous assessment during the senior cycle. This is currently resisted by the largest teacher union, the ASTI.
A large proportion of the respondents submitted detailed comments. For example, Mr Louis Elder said: "I think they should change to a continuous assessment policy because the Leaving Certificate is a very stressful time for all involved, mainly because everything hinges on the one set of exams."
Mr Donal Hunt said: "Get the right number of points and you get the course. However, the person may be totally unsuited to the course or profession. This cannot be good for our society." Mr Brian Purcell said "points count for too much" because "you may get the points for medicine but it is no good if you cannot communicate with patients". However, others said alternative systems could be influenced by those with connections and influence.
The NCCA is expected to begin a widespread review shortly. While its recent draft report questioned the narrowness of the exam, it complimented several elements of the Leaving Cert vocational and Leaving Cert applied programmes. Among the report's proposals was to merge the Leaving Cert with the transition-year programme.
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If you want to vote on whether the exam requires radical reform, log on to www.ireland.com