ASTI agrees with LC’s grading plan but has ‘major concerns’

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) is recommending its members to commit to the new qualification plan calculated for the Leaving Cert, but it has a number of “major concerns” about the process.

They include the termination by the Minister of his previous decision to grant students 100% for oral exams and certain practical exams, which were due to take place earlier this year.

ASTI calls for the Minister not to give up his granting full grades to students for orals, internships, etc. and that this extends to the entire Leaving Certificate project / practical work.

The union also has concerns about the data teachers should trust in this process, and said it will raise these issues with the Department of Education as soon as possible.

Additionally, the union said it has concerns related to fairness and perceived objectivity for students, as well as concerns related to the professional integrity of teachers and school leaders.

He calls on Education Minister Joe McHugh to address these concerns “as a matter of urgency”.

ASTI President Deirdre Mac Donald said: “This has been a difficult year for our Leaving Cert students and we are well aware of the stress they have suffered to date due to this pandemic.”

“The process outlined by the Minister is far from ideal.

“However, we will strive to improve the process to offer fairness, objectivity, and fairness to all students and protect the professional integrity of teachers.”

ASTI has a longstanding teacher policy that does not evaluate its students for the purpose of obtaining state certification. He said this is to ensure the integrity of the state testing process.

In the context of the current global pandemic, the union said that it recognizes that it is necessary to participate in this new process. It has “secured confirmation from the Department and from the Minister that these measures are being implemented in the event of an emergency and will not be considered as a precedent or agreement to operate this process in future years.”

Yesterday, the Irish Teachers Union (TUI) confirmed that it will participate in the new “calculated grades” system.