Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The issue of the leaving certificate has been raised. It is important we get an early decision. Reports in the media suggest that school historical results may be used in the standardisation of accredited grades. Two years ago, the Minister, Deputy Foley, correctly accepted that this would mean students in disadvantaged schools would lose out across the board. It is an elitist approach. There are viable alternatives in standardisation, including use of assessment tools as applied in the North, the use of rank order within a class to apply a percentage based average, and so on. We need a hybrid model. The use of historical data would be a mistake. It is elitist.

A solution based on those data might relieve stress on some people but it might also intensify the anxiety of students in schools in disadvantaged areas that previously had lower results.

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