Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 31: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the procedures that have been put in place to ensure that the incident which occurred during the leaving certificate English examination in 2009, when paper II was accidentally distributed instead of paper I, will not occur again; if contingency plans are in place to ensure that any such incident will lead to minimal disruption to students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18074/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The State Examinations Commission was asked to investigate and report on the circumstances that required the rescheduling of the Leaving Certificate English exam and the measures needed to address any weaknesses identified and to minimise the risk of any future recurrence. The State Examinations Commission submitted its report to my predecessor on 3 July 2009, and this report, which contained a number of recommendations for process improvement, is available at www.education.ie.

In the state examinations, the superintendent's core responsibility is to safeguard the security and integrity of the examination papers. Superintendents are provided with detailed instructions, including in DVD format, to assist them in the discharge of their duties. Support and training is provided for any superintendents who have not engaged in this work before. There are clear and comprehensive documented procedures to be gone through to ensure that the correct paper is distributed for each session of the examination process. In addition to specific instructions to Superintendents regarding the need for vigilance in relation to the separate packets of examination papers for Leaving Certificate English Papers 1 and 2 in 2009, these involved; colour coding of examination paper packets; green for morning and orange for afternoon, clear labelling of all examination paper packets detailing the subject, date and time, centre number and question paper quantities; checking by the superintendent of (i) the label (ii) the examination paper and (iii) that all the examination papers in the pack are for the correct session, and (iv) formal sign off that this is the case by the superintendent. signed confirmation by two students in the examination centre that the examination paper packet is the correct one for each particular session and that the packet is intact.

In this case, none of the documented procedures were carried out correctly.

A range of measures are being implemented with effect from the 2010 examinations which will contribute significantly to reducing the risk of a future recurrence of the problem which gave rise to the wrong paper being distributed to students. However, it remains the case that the examinations system is heavily dependent on human input, and for that reason, the risk of error can never be entirely eliminated. The measures being taken in the matter include Timetable Changes; any subject with two written examination papers will be scheduled on morning and afternoon sessions (these are colour coded differently and this should help ensure that the correct paper is distributed.) Redesigned examination paper packets and packet labels to prioritise the key information and generally to reduce the risk that packets could be opened in error. Each Superintendent will be partnered with another superintendent for the purposes of validating each other's packets of examinations papers to ensure that they each have the correct papers for the examination session about to commence. A candidate in the examination centre will then be asked to witness the opening of the packet of examination papers and to confirm that the packet has not been tampered with. Face-Up Distribution of Examination Papers to Candidates enabling candidates to see immediately whether they have received the correct examination paper for the session, so that the Superintendent can be alerted in the event of an error Enhanced training material and instructions for superintendents. This will include a set of Golden Rules for superintendents and clear directions on the action to take in the event of a problem arising. A dedicated phone number for superintendents so that they contact the SEC immediately if there is any risk that the integrity of the examination has been compromised.