Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

82. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an appeal will be allowed on the leaving certificate calculated grades for a person (details supplied). [34047/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The results of appeals under the 2020 Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades appeals process were made available to students at 12pm on Friday 16 October through the Calculated Grades Student Portal.

In the processing of the appeals, a total of 33,301 individual subject records belonging to 12,216 students were reviewed. This number excluded students who initially entered for an appeal but later withdrew their application.

As a result of the process, a total of 18 increased grades were awarded to 18 individual students. Eleven of these were upgrades following an appeal by the student. A further seven grades were upgraded following quality assurance checks as part of the appeals process which involved checks on the documentation submitted by schools; the entry of that data on to the schools' data collection system; and the subsequent transmission of the data through the various IT systems used in the generation of calculated grades.

The appeals process was a process review focussed on looking for errors in the transmission and processing of student data through the process. It was not possible to appeal the information (estimated percentage mark or rank order) provided by the school. Due to the nature of the Calculated Grades system the professional judgement of the school was outside of the appeals process. The design of the statistical model and the application of the national standardisation process was also outside of the scope of the appeals process.

The CAO were also notified of changes to students’ results on 16 October. Candidates who are eligible for a new offer as a result of the upgraded mark received following the appeals process will be contacted as soon as possible.

Students unhappy with the outcome of the above process could invoke a separate process to have their appeal reviewed by independent Appeals Scrutineers. These scrutineers are independent of my Department. The independent Appeals Scrutineers will check to ensure the correct procedures were followed throughout the appeals process. The scrutineers will have access to the records and documentation considered in the appeals process. Students who were advised of the results of their appeal on 16 October were also advised that information regarding the next stage of the process was available on the www.gov.ie website. The relevant section of that website stated that the closing date for receipt of completed forms for review by Independent Appeals Scrutineers was 5pm on Friday 23 October 2020. This information, together with further details regarding the Independent Appeals Scrutineers process, was also included under the 'Frequently Asked Questions' section of that website. Details of the process were also available on the Calculated Grades Student Portal.

Following the conclusion of the appeals processes, students who consider that their case has not been processed correctly can make a complaint to the Ombudsman or, in the case of students under 18 years of age, the Ombudsman for Children.

Students were also given the opportunity to register for the postponed Leaving Certificate examinations which are due to begin on 16 November.