Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 13: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when the latest NCCA report on the senior cycle will be made available publicly; her views in relation to the June 2004 report which stated that doing nothing would be the worst option; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3055/05]

Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 30: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will report on the proposals for reform of the leaving certificate that have been submitted to her; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2899/05]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 81: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the costings which have been carried out by her Department regarding external or internal continuous assessments as part of the review of the senior cycle; the context in which she stated that such costs would be too expensive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3052/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 30 and 81 together.

The NCCA proposals set out a vision for the type of school system which might exist by 2010. The proposals envisage a re-structured senior cycle curriculum consisting of transition units, short courses and subjects. The option of a two or three year cycle would be retained and the leaving certificate applied programme would continue as a discrete programme. All pupils, including LCA pupils, would follow at least one transition unit and many pupils would take a greater number.

The proposals provide also for an increased emphasis on a wider range of modes of assessment such as practical/portfolio/project work and continuous assessment, with assessment events spread out during courses of study and available at a number of points during the two or three year cycle.

Initial advice on the reforms was submitted by the NCCA to my Department in June 2004, and it indicated that a further advice would be submitted early in 2005 setting out the configuration of subjects, short courses and options, and the assessment and implementation implications of the proposals. That second advice, which will enable the Department to assess the resource and operational implications of the proposals, has not yet been received.

Accordingly, detailed costings of the resource implications of assessment have not yet been prepared in my Department. However, it is clear that the assessment proposals could incur considerable extra costs, given the proposals to assess subjects more frequently, to widen the scope for assessment of practical/project/portfolio work, to add national assessment for an extensive range of short courses, and to continue to provide largely for a centrally driven externally examined system.

I am conscious that the feedback in the consultation process on the future of senior cycle indicated that while the established leaving certificate is seen to attract high levels of public confidence, respondents overwhelmingly considered that the transition year, the LCA and the LCVP programmes offer greater relevance to the life experiences of learners, provide better for the development of personal and social skills and for a balance between academic and practical skills, and use more appropriate teaching and learning and assessment methods.

These viewpoints need to be balanced against concerns regarding local assessment of the leaving certificate by class teachers and the fact that trends internationally in high stakes examinations are towards external assessment. There is also a high level of public belief and confidence that a centrally driven externally examined system suits the Irish context. The feasibility of any large-scale move towards more frequent continuous assessment for the leaving certificate must be considered in the light of these factors.

It must be acknowledged that the leaving certificate is an independent objective assessment which is highly regarded internationally. We must ensure that, as our education system continues to evolve in the knowledge society, reforms build on the existing strengths of the system while addressing its weaknesses. We need reforms that are designed to ensure that our system has integrity, relevance and quality for all our students, including those who are currently served well and those whose needs are not being as well met at present.