Sir, – John McAvoy, former general manager of the CAO, in his comments on TCD's alternative entry assessment criteria ("Students are guinea pigs in Trinity's experiment", Education Opinion, October 14th), raises the key issue of the authenticity of the authorship of the essay which is a significant element of the proposed entry assessment procedure.
The Hyland report (2011) draws particular attention to this issue.
When dealing with the question of essays and personal statements, Hyland states that “plagiarism is common in countries where personal statements are required, and would be likely to occur here if such an option were introduced”.
On the question of the presentation of a portfolio, Hyland states that “issues of author verification would arise, as well as the advantage secured by candidates who might have had access to coaching and private support”.
The same would apply to an essay.
As regards the proposal to rate students relative to their school, Hyland has this to say: “Students might transfer to less advantaged schools in their final year to take advantage of the benefits such a system would confer”.
I sincerely hope that the realism of Mr McAvoy and Prof Hyland will not be ignored. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O’DWYER,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.