Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy.

On 8 May 2020 it was announced that the leaving certificate examinations were to be postponed and that calculated grades would be provided as an option for leaving certificate students for 2020. At that time, it was also announced that the grades would be finalised and issued for each student as close as possible to the traditional date of issue of the leaving certificate results. At no time was a definitive date for release of the 2020 calculated grades announced.

The date of 7 September is the earliest possible release date given the rigorous and robust quality assurance checks required to ensure the process is executed with equity and fairness to all students and to ensure that the 2020 results enjoy the same status as those of previous years. The results will be available in time for round 1 offers from CAO and UCAS for colleges and universities in Ireland and UK. I have written to every European minister with responsibility for higher education and asked for Irish students to be accommodated. I have received assurances from the Dutch authorities that their higher education institutions are being advised to accommodate the entry of Irish students in September in view of the conditions caused by Covid-19.

The recent announcement that the results would issue on 7 September has been portrayed perhaps as a delay but it is the additional three weeks that are required. More than 450,000 individual grades have to be prepared and subject to checks and balances as part of the national standardisation process. It is of vital importance that the process is given sufficient time to execute to the highest standards and to rigorous and robust quality assurance so that the results provided in 2020 enjoy the same status and value as the leaving certificates of previous and indeed those to come.

The standardisation process is overseen by a national standardisation group. The group comprises representatives from the calculated grades executive office and the inspectorate, both from my Department; the Educational Research Centre and the State Examinations Commission. The group meets regularly to analyse and review the most recent iteration of the model and to discuss the outcomes and review how best to proceed in adjusting the model and also to work through the validation process. The Educational Research Centre has also been engaged to provide a data quality assurance and verification service on the data processing and standardisation processes.

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