THERE ARE some encouraging trends in the Leaving Certificate results published this morning. Numbers failing maths have dropped significantly while those taking the subject at higher level have increased by 35 per cent. This suggests that two initiatives designed to address the “maths crisis” are working. The introduction of the more user-friendly Project Maths course has delivered much improved performance.
Similarly, the decision by third-level colleges, at the request of Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn, to award 25 bonus CAO points for those who pass higher level maths incentivised many students to take the exam.
It will be some time before the long-term impact of these changes can be fully assessed. While Project Maths has still to be fully rolled out, a growing number of maths teachers and academics maintain the new exam represents a significant dumbing down of standards. The value of the bonus points system has also been questioned. Career experts predict the new system will lead to a dramatic increase in CAO points next week. There are suggestions that points for much-prized courses in science and related areas could reach record levels. It is likely that many talented students will find themselves struggling to secure places on such courses.
While there are some positive trends in the exam results today, this does not obviate the need for radical reform of the Leaving Certificate. The exam, unchanged in many respects since the 1930s, has a number of important weaknesses. It rewards rote learning and places little emphasis on problem solving, critical thinking or self-directed learning. As the Hyland Report noted earlier this year, the nature of the Leaving Certificate has led to a situation where many students enter third-level education without adequate skills – including literacy and numeracy – to cope with higher education. Hyland graphically described its key flaws: “Because the Leaving Cert is a high-stakes exam, used for selection to third level, its backwash effect on teaching and learning and on the student experience is considerable; the exam becomes the determinant of what is studied and how; non-exam subjects get little or no attention and, in many cases, broader co-curricular activities are ignored or minimised.’’
Mr Quinn has promised to deliver reform of the exam and of the college entry system. At his request, university presidents are drawing up a series of proposals for alternatives to the current system. The hope must be that the radical reform of the Junior Certificate, due to be rolled out from 2017, will serve as a template for a new Leaving Cert exam.
In the interim, the colleges can take immediate steps to improve matters. They must be encouraged to offer more general omnibus courses to first-year undergraduates. The current practice of offering highly specialised courses to 18-year-old school leavers puts too much pressure on young shoulders and excludes them from a wider body of knowledge.