Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Consequent to the pandemic of the past two years, exams that should have taken place, including for students who were being examined for the first time, did not take place and are open for assessment now. It is in line with long-standing practice and in the interests of fairness that the SEC does not provide marking schemes for sample papers as a marking scheme cannot be finalised in the absence of a review of a candidate's work produced under live examination conditions. The commission advised that it would not be appropriate to draw any inference from any marking scheme on a sample paper as it may not reflect the live paper.

The commission will publish the marking schemes at the time of issue of the provisional examination results. This will assist candidates who are considering whether they may wish to appeal these provisional results. It is important to note that there are no-choice examination papers and candidates are required to answer all the questions on the examination paper. In addition, the examination papers are in completion booklet format and the space provided to the candidate is indicative of the amount the candidate is required to write to answer that question.

I acknowledge the points the Deputy made but the NCCA is making the point that a live exam will determine the final marking.

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