Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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218. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, as part of the reform of junior certificate grades, she will allow students access to their marked papers and to final percentages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21778/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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On 22 April I announced changes to the Junior Cycle grade bands for students in 2025 and future years, adjusting the top four grade bands to become evenly distributed. This will have a positive impact on students, ensuring their grades are more reflective of their work and effort, as well as of the work of our teachers.

In making this change, it is considered critically important that grade bands remain sufficiently broad to ensure that students can focus on learning and engaging in school, and on becoming independent, resourceful and confident learners.

It is a core principle of the Junior Cycle Framework that there should be a move away from focusing on terminal examination as the main mode of assessment. Rather than emphasising examinations only, or marginal gains in examination performance, it is vital that students' learning and engagement remains at the heart of Junior Cycle. Providing exact marks or percentages, by increasing the focus on examination performance, would run counter to this goal, hence it is not intended to provide additional information such as percentages or exact marks to students. It may be useful to note that the dual approach to assessment increases the prominence given to classroom-based assessment and formative assessment, acknowledging that students learn best when teachers provide feedback that helps students to understand how their learning can be improved.

The state-certified examination is but one element of a more balanced, broader approach to assessment at Junior Cycle. All aspects of assessment contribute to providing a comprehensive picture of student achievement which is captured in the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA).

It is vital that we adhere to this core principle so that students' learning and engagement remains at the heart of Junior Cycle.