Ms Clare Austick:

What we have got from this conversation is we can keep talking about performance and how it is measured but the way we measure it right now is very limiting and does not include all the different types of learners and individuals. When it comes to a terminal examination, we are not thinking of those who may be better at communicating their learnings via a discussion or conversation or who prefer to present to the class or want to do continuous assessment over a long time. When we talk about leaving certificate reform, it has to be about the way we assess students and giving people the option of being assessed on a method and mechanism that suits them, the way they learn and how they communicate what they have learned.

Integral to the conversation is the way it is taught through a universal design for learning and ensuring every student is on a level playing field and has the same opportunities to convey the information he or she has learned. A written examination is not supportive and inclusive in respect of all students. Some students will have bad days, if something happens and it decides how they perform during that examination, which will then have knock-on effects regarding access to the courses they want to pursue at third level. When we talk about measuring academic ability or performance, it has to be down to the options and the way we measure it. It has to be about presentations, discussions, multiple-choice questions, MCQs, and being able to engage in other alternative methods that suit the individual student and allows him or her to show his or her strengths, rather than being confined in a box that does not work for him or her.