End of 'grade inflation' as fewer get top marks
THE number of pupils scoring the top Leaving Cert grades have fallen for the first time in years. Picture posed, Getty Images.
THE number of pupils scoring the top Leaving Cert grades have fallen for the first time in years, results out today will show.
The rise and rise of top grades at higher level has been arrested, and there is a slight downturn this year.
The trend is most apparent in the number of As awarded, especially at A1 level, with a knock-on impact expected on CAO college-entry points.
Many top students, meanwhile, will be left disappointed that they have not bagged the maximum possible number of points.
Last year, 216 students got the maximum 600 points, but this has dropped to 143 -- even though more students sat the exams.
Ever-improving performances over the past two decades caused concerns of "dumbing down", but this was countered with claims that the papers were more student-friendly.
The proportion of higher papers being marked 'A' had doubled in the past 15 years, from 6pc of all grades in 1993 to 12.6pc in 2008. But this year it fell to 12.2pc.
Although the drop in A grades is slight, it comes on top of a three-year plateau.
The lower scores mean that, while the number of CAO points needed for certain college courses may drop this year, the overall rise in the number of applications is set to ensure keen competition for places.
Of those who got the maximum 600 points, 24 students secured seven A1s on higher level papers, which is way down on last year's 54 students.
This year, 12 students received eight A1 grades and one talented student will today be celebrating getting nine A1 grades on higher level papers.
The numbers sitting the Leaving were up around 2,000 to 57,455 this year -- a figure which includes 3,259 taking the alternative Leaving Certificate Applied programme.
Results are available online and by phone from midday.
Congratulating the students, Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe said last night: "Education is the engine of growth in the knowledge and green economies, which are now the focus of government policy as we tackle the recession and build a future for our children."
Achievement
Ferdia Kelly, representing secondary school managers, said the the achievement of this year's Leaving Certificate students was remarkable given that international comparisons placed this country close to the bottom of the league table in relation to the provision of resources for education.
Teachers' Union of Ireland deputy general secretary Annette Dolan warned that those taking the examination in future years would be at a severe disadvantage if further cutbacks were introduced.
Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland president Joe Moran said while the Leaving Cert represented a significant milestone, it was not everything and "it is important that you take the time to positively explore all your options over the coming weeks".
- Katherine Donnelly and John Walshe
