Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this motion. It is over a quarter of a century since the current junior certificate was established. At the time, for many students it was the last formal examination. Now, thankfully, only approximately 10% of children leave formal education at this stage.

Our focus should be on the learning process and the skills learned rather than the outcome of an examination. We can all agree that those leaving school in 1989 faced very different challenges to those leaving school in 2015 and beyond. Educational theory has moved on significantly in the meantime. Now, the emphasis is on teaching children life skills as opposed to learning by rote.

When the proposals for overhauling the junior cycle were initially mooted, real fear was expressed by students, parents and teachers about the fairness of students' teachers marking their work. However, in the intervening period much has been done to allay some of these fears. For example, the current proposal is that final examinations would account for 60% of the junior cycle marks. Furthermore, these examinations would be set and marked by the State Examinations Commission. The proposal has allayed the fears of many in respect of that reform.

What remains is 40% of the marks. Recent years have seen an increased emphasis on portfolio and project work, group work and oral testing. It is only sensible that these be assessed on a continual basis with appropriate external checks to ensure fairness. Much of the focus has been on the marking structure of the examination. The 40% continuous assessment element reflects best practice. There is an acceptance of continuous assessment and non-examination-based assessment in countries throughout Europe. Rather than focusing on examinations, our focus should be on what children are learning during this important three-year period. In particular, I welcome the focus on health and well-being; physical education; social, personal and health education; and civic, social and political education. The focus has followed from consultation with young people who have sought for a greater emphasis to be placed on social and life skills.

The change to the junior certificate is not about saving money. Rather, it is about using the knowledge gained about best practice and teenage learning in the past two or three decades and putting that in place in Irish classrooms to ensure that students learn skills that will be of value during their lives rather than sitting in silence and learning off long tracts of information.

I believe the Minister has taken on board the real concerns of teachers in an even-handed manner. This is reflected in the reduced level of school-based assessment. However, Ireland is already out of step in terms of the European experience in embracing the importance of ongoing assessment and the move away from a reliance on end-of-year written examinations.

When consulted about the junior certificate reform representatives from Dáil na nÓg stated that the junior certificate, as it currently stands, is essentially a memory test. They found this to be a negative form of assessment which leads to undue stress for many. The voice of those sitting the examinations is important. Education is now a collaborative affair between students and teachers and it is only right that their views are taken on board.

I believe that necessary safeguards can be put in place to ensure the fairness of the overall result in respect of the written examination and the school-based assessment. Once new structures are agreed by all parties we can move forward with a junior cycle that reflects best practice internationally, one that rewards real learning as opposed to rote learning and one that will properly equip students for life in 21st century Ireland.

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