Mr. Aidan Farrell:

Deputy Eugene Murphy asked a question about project work, which I will answer in two parts, if I may. I will deal first with the broader revision of subjects and subject specifications that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has been undertaking for many years, particularly regarding the leaving certificate. I will then address the junior cycle because it differs significantly from the leaving cycle. Leaving certificate subjects are revised on a rolling basis by the NCCA.

It has certainly been the practice and policy over the past long number of years that when subjects are being revised we moved from a system of the traditional three hour terminal exam in June, which was the only assessment element where the person is tested on a written paper, to a system with project work, course work or skills-based activities in which we set out to assess a broader range of skills and knowledge than we can assess in a written examination. In practical subjects it can be determined by asking the student to design a communication graphic using CAD systems, or if the subject is construction or engineering the student may be asked to make an artefact, or in language subjects the student is given aural and oral exams as well as written exams. The idea is that the student is tested on a broader range of skills than was the case traditionally, and it also allows the student to bank some assessment activity separate to the three hour examination in June. This reduces the stress levels that are, in the case of the leaving certificate, undoubtedly part of the high-stakes examination.

The reform process around the junior cycle is fundamentally quite different. Research has shown that focusing on the terminal examination system at the end of third year does not encourage the sort of learning that we hope to develop as a society moving in to the 21st century. There is a broader range of assessment and reporting to students and parents in relation to the junior cycle than is possible through an external model such as the one operated in the State examinations system. Classroom-based assessments are now happening at school whereby students can be assessed on a broad range of skills and upon which they can get feedback at the time. Students learn better when they get feedback at the point of assessment and at the point of learning, on how they are performing and where they can improve, as opposed of feedback at the end of the third year. The research at junior cycle, in the context of performance in English and Maths, has shown us that students are stabilising in first year with some students then disengaging in second year. Traditionally a lot of the focus in third year, especially from Christmas term onwards, was on preparation for the examinations. In many respects it was preparation for performance in the examinations as opposed to developing a deeper learning and engagement with the subjects. The research shows that the skills set is trying to encourage in students a deeper engagement in learning with their schools and teachers that is broader than the system as a whole and broader than the exam system. Research shows that this is possible through a broader range of assessment, through feedback and through formation than is possible through a terminal, external model. That is very much the focus there.