Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to respond to Deputy McNamara first, as this is important. I appreciate his intervention. The reason we need standardisation is that we cannot have a school in Bantry on a different platform from a school in Letterkenny. That is why we have it. There is an assumption that once this standardised model comes into place, maths scores, for example, within a school will be brought down. However, it is possible that maths could be brought up instead. It is not a question of teachers' marks for subjects being brought down by this standardisation. The standardisation is necessary because we have to look at all the other CAO applicants on last year's leaving certificate. That is why there has to be standardisation and a level playing field. We cannot have a case where a score in Bantry is different from a score in Letterkenny. I understand the concern around ensuring that everybody is treated fairly, and that was the subject of today's advisory group meeting with the students' union representative voice. I will certainly continue to feed in the concerns expressed in this House today, but I reiterate that this is based on the school-based assessment and the track records of students over a period of two years. Students will be marked by the teaching group and the all-school group once they provide the evidence. They will have the data and exam scripts, whether from Christmas exams, different exams or from speaking to teachers who do an exam after every module. There is a track record and a safety net for students who may have moved to that school. The junior cycle result will also be built into the mathematical model.

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