The publication of detailed lists of the schools from which third-level colleges get their students always prompts a huge response from schools and parents. The latest list, published on Saturday, indicates that nine of the top 10 feeder schools for UCD were fee-paying. One of the State's leading grinds schools sent more than twice as many students to UCD this autumn as any other school, not surprising when one considers the huge numbers taking the Leaving Cert exam there. In fact, many "free" second-level schools also featured strongly, when the actual numbers sitting the Leaving Cert are taken into account.
No sensible person could argue that the lists, as published, provide a rounded picture of how a particular school is performing. The feeder school lists, which record the number of students from each school who registered at a third-level college this autumn, take no account of the social profile of a school. They give a school no credit for excellence in important non-academic areas like sport, music and drama. Crucially, they take no account of a school's enrolment policy. Many fee-paying schools, for example, operate an admissions policy which, to put it at its mildest, can be less than fair to pupils with poor academic standards and/or special needs.
But the lists are not without value. Many parents use them to help select a school for their son or daughter - one of the key decisions which any parent faces. Most sensible parents will choose a school where their child has an opportunity to develop their social, sporting and other skills. But they also want to be reassured that their child will achieve his or her full academic potential. The feeder lists provide some information which can be of use in making this decision. They provide nothing like the full picture. In the absence of any other information, half a loaf is better than no bread.
And there is very little other information. Schools are supposed to give examination information to parents under the Education Act but most are very reluctant. Some private fee-paying schools post details of their Leaving Cert results on their websites, but they remain a small minority. There is, as the former education minister, Mr Dempsey, acknowledged, an "information vacuum". There is also an seemingly insatiable appetite among the public for information on schools. A Department of Education opinion poll published in October showed huge public support for the release of more information. Over 75 per cent say information about the numbers from a school who proceed to third-level should be publicly available. The Minister for Education and Science, Ms Hanafin, is strongly opposed to the release of raw data on schools. She favours the release of what she terms "fair and meaningful information" on schools to parents and she has begun a consultation process with the education partners. It is to be hoped that Ms Hanafin will move to fill the information vacuum without delay.