Sir, – There seems to be much surprise at the news that Irish school students perform badly on problem-solving, and in written expression. There shouldn’t be.
For the last 25 years we have consistently dumbed down the curriculum in the mistaken belief that sameness represented equality such that all students, regardless of appropriateness to their aptitude, should be able to follow the same academic programme of study.
The lowering of standards has allowed more students to access academic qualifications but the cost has been a drop in standards demanded of all students.
The new Junior Cycle, with its reduced class time for students, the introduction of common exam levels in place of Higher and Ordinary Level, and the bureaucratisation of assessment, will compound the problem of falling standards rather than address it.
If we want better results from our schoolchildren, lowering standards is not going to achieve them. Yours etc,
PETER LYDON,
Woodford Drive,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22