Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Let me be absolutely clear: the integrity of the existing junior certificate will be maintained and improved by my proposals.

It is essential that students are marked by their teachers to promote better student learning and improved student outcomes. School-based assessment empowers teachers to support the unique talents and skills of the students in their classrooms. It allows for a far more rounded picture of student achievement to emerge. What is assessed is valued; school-based assessment promotes a learning culture in schools which recognises and rewards skills that cannot readily be externally assessed. This, in turn, improves the validity and integrity of the assessment.

Parents and teachers have raised concerns with me about school-based certificates and I am happy to address those concerns by retaining the State certificate. However, State certification is not only about putting the harp on a certificate. It will be underpinned by the assurance that the procedures leading to the award are robust, including the school-based element.

The unions are questioning how standards will be maintained. The combination of a 60% examination set and marked by the SEC, combined with quality assurance by the SEC on the school-based elements, has allowed me to be confident about issuing State certificates. This reform is not about protecting systems; it is about improving standards.

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