The news from the Leaving Certificate results, published today, is positive overall. The pass and honours rates are sustained; there are improved performances in key subjects like mathematics and Irish, and there is an overwhelming demand for college places among the 65,000 young men and women who took the examination.
The Minister for Education plans to build on this positive atmosphere. He wants 90 per cent of our 1719 year olds to be taking the Leaving Certificate by the year 2000, a target which would give us the most educated youth population in Europe.
However for thousands of students and their parents today's results are the only concern. This is a traumatic time for them - far more so than is realised by those adults who do not have children of that age. All concerned deserve sympathy and attention: for many, the outcome will have far-reaching effects as educational talents are recognised and rewarded in the employment and career marketplaces. That the number taking mathematics at higher level has increased by 60 per cent in a mere four years, and with a higher performance, is a tribute to changes in the syllabus which introduced three levels.
Teachers also pay tribute to the new syllabus in Irish for improving both the results and the attractiveness of that long-maligned subject. The continuing introduction of new syllabuses though the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment must be given the highest priority in educational planning. Questions are being asked, for example, about why it is taking so long for the new Leaving Certificate English course to see the light of day.
There has been much debate about the over-academic nature of the Leaving Certificate, but it is now being brought more into line with the requirements of the State's expanding technology sector. Some of the fruits can be seen in the applied mathematics and biology results, which show outstanding achievements at the higher levels. Computer studies have been introduced at the Junior Certificate level, but not yet in the Leaving - on the evidence of these results that becomes all the more necessary. Both the Leaving Certificate Applied and Vocational programmes, recently introduced and now performing relatively well, are further indications that these lessons have been learned. Language skills remain a central factor in career paths as well as for national economic performance in a more competitive world. Ireland has not distinguished itself with facility in European languages, despite the potential bonus that exposure to two languages - English and Irish - could give to learning a third or a fourth one. Examiners' analyses of recent Leaving Certificate results have expressed concern at levels of literacy and grammatical accomplishment in the English papers. There is some evidence from these results that such trends have at least been arrested.
The improved trends in Irish performance appears to result from a new curriculum which is more attractive to students. The Minister, Mr Martin, is right to stress the importance of oral competency in all languages. Overall, then, the Leaving Certificate continues to provide a steady benchmark of achievement for secondary education in this State. Comparisons with 1995 and 1996 suggest little volatility year on year and provide welcome confirmation that patient analysis and planning can be reflected in improved educational performance.