The arrival of the Leaving Certificate results in schools this morning represents a tense moment for some 60,000 students and their parents. There is the very real sense that the contents of an envelope - or more likely the results as revealed from the Department of Education's new telephone helpline - could shape the future of each student.
Amid all the concern, there is a need for a sense of proportion. The so-called points race is becoming much less intense as the number of college places continues to expand and the number of school leavers continues to decline. There will be the customary reports about very high points requirements for courses like medicine and dentistry, but for most students there is an abundance of choice in the universities, the various institutes of technology and the post Leaving Certificate courses (PLCs). Last year, the majority of those seeking places with the Central Applications Office (CAO) were successful. Indeed, a remarkable total of 85,000 offers were made to some 54,000 students.
This year's Leaving Certificate exams passed without any notable controversy. Students and their teachers expressed general satisfaction with the papers; unlike previous years there was little protest that certain papers were too difficult. Students particularly welcomed the additional exam time allowed in particular subjects.
For all that, the exam results confirm some worrying trends. A failure rate of almost 24 per cent in Ordinary Level history is worrying. This year's results will deepen the perception that history is a difficult, time-consuming subject with little points potential. The examiners themselves can hardly be blamed; they have a responsibility to maintain standards, but the Teachers Union of Ireland is right when it says that the Government needs to invest much more resources in promoting the subject.
The Government's efforts to foster interest in science has still to have any appreciable impact. Although failure rates have declined and general standards appear to have increased across the science subjects, the level of students attracted to physics and chemistry - totalling 17,000 - remains low.
There remains evidence of disturbingly high variations between marks in different subjects. The Department of Education's investigation into this trend is welcome. The Leaving Cert is supposed to be a level playing field; some subjects should not necessarily be easier than others.
But the Department deserves some commendation for the smooth manner in which it deals with the huge logistical demands placed by the Leaving Certificate. The resignation of the Chief Examiner in Scotland this weekend, after incorrect grades were forwarded to students, is a reminder of what can go wrong. Since the controversy about the missing Art papers some years ago, the Department's Examination Branch has delivered a highly efficient and very transparent exam system.