Mr. Gary Ó Donnchadha:

From the Department's point of view it is the opportunity cost that we lose the opportunity to engage with learners in a formative way. These are very young learners, aged 13 or 14, and we already have decided that setting them high-stakes examination tests is the wrong way to support their learning. That is why the reforms are driven by the Government to shift the emphasis back into the classrooms and close to the teaching-learning loop where the really valuable good work happens. We do expect the goalposts to be seen to have changed over time. We expect that the rebalanced dispensation that will exist in a short few years will make it very clear that there is no point in trying to service a high-stakes terminal examination at the end of junior cycle. We are more interested in seeing how resources and materials can be developed and facilitated for the formative classroom-based assessment processes. I will take away the suggestion that we consider some guidance for schools in the context of what they do around the new junior cycle and how the legacy practice of mock examinations fits into that, if at all. I will be happy to take that back to the Department and give it some thought.