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POLYMETRIKA INTERNATIONAL, the company that developed the calculated exit certificate code, was paid an additional € 91,500 on top of the agreed cost, as € 1,100 was charged for the additional days outside the contract.
The Department of Education has also confirmed that after the decision was made that the Exit Certificate would not take place, there was not “enough time to run a normal and complete procurement process.”
Instead, the department used the hiring process known as the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication, which is used in circumstances “where it is a case of extreme urgency.”
As part of contingency planning for the 2020 Leaving Certificate, the State Examinations Commission contracted with Polymetrika to develop the code used to calculate scores.
Polymetrika was hired to provide statistical and psychometric expertise, initially on the basis of contingency planning in case the Certificate of Exit did not go as planned.
The value of this contract was 71,500 euros to cover 65 days.
However, to date, € 163,000 has been paid to Polymetrika under the contract.
The department said that the increase in cost is due to additional days outside the contract being charged at € 1,100 per day.
The decision to cancel the Leaving Cert this year and operate the calculated grade system was made on May 8.
“Polymetrika played an integral part of the development and operation of the Calculated Ratings model, and as such, Polymetrika’s contract was extended to implement the Calculated Ratings model under the previously agreed terms of the contract,” said a department spokesperson.
“As such, this expense reflects their work both in contingency planning and in the development and statistical work around the operation of the model,” they added.
It became known yesterday that around 7,200 Leaving Cert ratings have been affected by errors in the Leaving Cert calculated rating system.
The exact number of students who will receive higher grades will not be available until the process is complete, but it is likely to be in the region of 6,500. No student will receive a reduced grade in any subject as a result of this process.
Education Minister Norma Foley made the announcement after Taoiseach Micheál Martin revealed today that two errors were identified in the system, one identified by the private company Polymetrika and the second by officials from the Department of Education.
Foley said the Canadian company Polymetrika International found that one line of code in every 50,000 lines had an error and that it would affect the results of some students.
The department added that the normal recruitment procedure could not be adhered to, as in order for the calculated grades model to be useful to students, the results had to be published in early September, so that the Irish and international deadlines for entering the higher and higher education. .
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“Polymetrika has recognized experience in a highly technical and specialized field.
“Its director, Mr. Cartwright, is a former principal investigator for the Canadian Council for Learning and also worked with Statistics Canada.
“Mr. Cartwright has worked in Ireland in the past and has an established relationship with both the Center for Educational Research and the Department of Education and Skills, and has an understanding of the Irish education system,” said a spokesman for the department.
Polymetrika had initially participated as an advisor in the technical working group that was established as part of contingency planning for the 2020 Certificate of Completion. However, the company committed to implementing and delivering the system when the decision was made. decision to postpone the exam.
“The only way to achieve the goal of giving students calculated grades in the time available was to use an expert provider who was trusted, who had the skills and experience to do the job and understood the Irish system,” said the spokesman.
Additionally, the Center for Research in Education carried out a series of verifications, including a sample verification of the coding used in the standardization process, they added.
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