Written answers

Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Department of Education and Skills

State Examinations Data

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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255. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the reported failure rate at leaving certificate maths; the measures his Department proposes to remedy this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34792/16]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am taking it that the Deputy is referring to the combined numbers of Leaving Certificate Mathematics candidates at all three levels (Higher, Ordinary, and Foundation) who were awarded E grades, F grades or no grade in the 2016 examination. The designation of any performance in the certificate examinations as a' fail' ceased in 1968.

The nature of curricular examinations such as the Leaving Certificate and the procedures currently in place for awarding grades are such that a certain amount of fluctuation in the grade distribution from year to year is to be expected. Grade distributions are also affected significantly by the proportion of candidates who opt to take the examination at each level. In particular, if the proportion of candidates opting for Higher level increases, the candidates making this move will tend to be those who were towards the higher-achieving end of the Ordinary level distribution and will tend to fall at the lower-achieving end of the Higher level distribution. This will obviously affect the grade distribution at both levels. Influenced by the combined effect of syllabus change in mathematics,  known as Project Maths, and the introduction by the Higher Education Institutions of 'bonus points' for Higher level mathematics, the number of students in recent years presenting for Higher level in Leaving Certificate Mathematics examinations has increased significantly, from 15.8% in 2011 to 28% in 2016.

During the standard-setting process that happens as part of the marking process each year, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) takes account of these and any other relevant factors in the course of satisfying itself that the distribution of grades awarded is appropriate and that it accurately reflects the performance of the candidates in comparison to the achievement standards envisaged when the syllabus was designed.

In the context of a significant migration of mathematics candidates from Ordinary to Higher level, it may be noted that a similar absolute number of candidates awarded E, F or no grade at Ordinary level will inevitably be manifested as a higher percentage, since the total number of candidates at this level has reduced.

The number of candidates who failed to achieve at least a D3 grade at any level of the mathematics examination in 2016, while marginally higher than in the last three or four years, is very similar to the number in the years before that (2009 to 2011, for example). In the context of the factors mentioned above, there is nothing especially unusual about the grade distribution in mathematics for 2016.

In the case of the current syllabus change in mathematics, there has been a deliberate attempt to increase the emphasis on higher-order thinking skills, including interpretation, problem solving, and dealing with the unfamiliar. These are skills that students find difficult to master and teachers find difficult to instil in students. The syllabus expectations are ambitious at all levels.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) will be undertaking a review of the Project Maths initiative, now that the full implementation of all phases of the curricular change is complete. By this time students will have been through the new maths cycle a few times and the NCCA will have good information on which to base the assessment of its impact, especially on the learning of under-achievers. I have asked the State Examinations Commission to ensure that any lessons that can be learned from candidate performance in recent examinations, and the 2016 examination in particular, be fed into that review process. The Project Maths Implementation Support Group, an industry-education partnership set up by my Department, including third level bodies, Engineers Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, will also be able to provide their considered opinions to this process.

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