Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They will be able to develop their own short courses. Priority junior certificate changes in areas such as creativity, teamwork and problem solving cannot be assessed by written examination. The plan is for a reduction, from 100% to 40%, in the marks to be awarded for portfolio work, oral skills, project work and ways of assessing that are much broader than written examinations. Deputy Martin will be well aware that in Scotland, Finland, Australia and New Zealand, all countries with high performing school systems, state examinations at the end of the junior cycle have been either abolished completely or replaced with a combination of examinations and course work assessed within the school.

Since her appointment, the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, has been clear that she has been willing to listen to all of the voices in education and to compromise where she felt this was necessary. She involved herself in detailed discussions and Dr. Travers, the former president of St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, was appointed as a chairman. The Minister offered a compromise here, that 60% of the marks in the junior cycle should be allocated on the basis of an examination at the end of the third year - down from 100% - which will continue to be set and marked by the State Examinations Commission for all subjects and that 40% of the marks should be allocated for school-based work, such as portfolios and projects, which thousands of students do at third level colleges every day of the week.

See this speech in context