Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

If possible, I will ask for a question and answer approach and for the Minister to be brief. Obviously, some questions will require more substantial answers than others.

It was not my intention to return to the issue of calculated grades, but it is difficult to remove ourselves from it. I was struck by the Minister's opening remarks when he stated:

The estimated mark [that a student will receive] is informed by a teacher's professional judgment and available evidence can be used to support the estimation of a mark. Once a teacher has completed the stage of establishing an estimated mark for each student, those marks will then be considered as part of a school alignment process.

I trust teachers completely. I have spent a great deal of time in DEIS schools. Anyone who enters that profession deserves far more than we could ever pay or assign value to. However, there are major issues with the school alignment process. Let me cite some of the evidence that may be used. I apologise for being parochial, but I will use schools from my constituency in this discussion. Last week, the Minister referenced Larkin community college, which is a wonderful school.

Its progression rates to university in the last couple of years were as follows: in 2019, it was 59%; in 2018, it was 35% and in 2017, it was 25%. There is a very significant upper trajectory, which is reflected across many DEIS schools. The Minister will be aware of the various innovations over the last couple of years that progress upwards. Looking at the private school in my area, since 2010 there have been only two years when progression rates were not 100% and in those two years the rates were 96% and 89%. I ask the Minister to comment on the school alignment process with those factors being considered.

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