The Leaving Cert written exams this summer have been cancelled.
Students will have the option to sit them at a later date or accept a predicted grade.
Teachers will provide a score for each subject and it’ll have to be approved by the school principal.
The Department of Education will then make sure there’s an even national spread before students get their results.
The Minister for Education & Skills, and Donegal TD Joe McHugh said: “The reality of the impact of Covid-19 has led to a decision that has never happened in our country before. I fully appreciate the magnitude of this issue, for the students and their families, for the teachers and for school principals.
“This decision is taken with the best interests of students at heart. I have a responsibility to find a fair way to address the disadvantage that some students are facing and the impact a lack of time in school has had in recent weeks.
“The system being put in place will allow a young person to progress to the next stage of their life in a timely fashion.”
Michael Coen is a Leaving Cert student in Coola Post Primary School in Sligo.
He gave Ocean FM his reaction to the state exam cancellation:
With no written exams, there will be four criteria used to determine students grades:
- An estimation of scores and rankings by a student’s teacher. The teacher will estimate a percentage mark for each student, and also their ranking compared to classmates. This will happen for each individual subject.
- This will then be subjected to an in-school alignment process, in which subject teachers wil work together to finalise their estimated marks and rankings.
- The school principal will review and sign off on marks, and may return estimated ranking or marks to teachers for further consideration.
- A process of national standardisation using statistical methods to ensure a common national standard is applied.
