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Students exiting Cert will have fewer questions to answer on written assignments this year.
Further adjustments are being made to the documents to reduce the burden on candidates, who have suffered a prolonged interruption in their education.
Students were previously informed that there would be more options between and within the questions.
But the new guidance on exams and the accredited grading process, released today, announces additional changes.
It says that: “In addition to the adjustment to the exams previously communicated to the schools, additional adjustments will be made to the written assignments.
“These new adjustments will aim to reduce the burden on students, while leaving the overall overall structure of the written exams intact.
“In most cases, these adjustments will mean reducing the number of questions students will have to answer.”
The duration of the exams will remain the same as set in the schedule, allowing students more time to read the work and answer the questions.
The State Examination Commission (SEC) will issue more topic-by-topic guidance regarding adjustments in the week of March 22.
The changes are announced in A Guide to State Examinations and Accredited Grades for Leaving Certificate 2021, which has been posted at Gov.ie/leavingcertificate.
Oral exams, for those who are also submitting written assignments, are scheduled between March 26 and April 15. They will be held at the school outside of normal class hours.
Orals are expected to be held for no more than five consecutive days at each school and may be held before or after the normal school day, during Easter holidays or on weekends.
They will be conducted under scrutiny by a teacher / teachers from the school or a neighboring school or other suitable qualified teacher and will be paid for by the SEC.
The orals will be recorded electronically and the recording will be sent to the SEC for grading.
Due to the restrictions related to Covid, there is no internship in Construction Studies Engineering and no Performance Evaluation in Physical Education.
In these subjects, the proportion of grades that are normally assigned to these components will be reassigned to the project.
However, revised arrangements are being made for the practical performance of Music, which is expected to take place during Easter. Work is being done on this issue with public health experts.
The exams begin on June 9 and there will be no second chance to take them for those who, due to illness or bereavement, cannot take them in June.
The 63,000 Leaving Cert candidates return to school next Monday and will have approximately one week, starting Monday, March 8, to register their exam options on an SEC candidate portal.
This is where they will opt for the exams and / or receive the SEC accredited G certificate.rades.
They will be asked to confirm their subjects and the level (higher / ordinary / basic) at which they want to be assessed.
The portal will reopen in late April / early May so that candidates can review their options.
Accredited grades will be based on the teacher’s estimated grade for a student regarding their likely performance in each subject, signed by the school.
Estimated grades provided by schools will go through a standardization process, which will include the use of national data on student performance on Junior Cert and Leaving Cert exams in each subject, but not including the results of calculated grades for the year. last.
The Leaving Cert data will not include the use of historical school performance by school data, the topic that caused a lot of controversy in 2020. Junior cycle performance data from the Leaving Cert class will likely be used. 2021.
The document sets out a guide for teachers on how to arrive at a fair estimated grade and how to separate students who have very similar achievement levels by the smallest of the fractions.
To avoid giving the same percentage mark to two students, they can include up to two decimal places, that is, 83.22pc, 83.33pc.
Like last year, teachers are asked to rely on a variety of tests of student achievement, including a limited assessment until May 14, and to use their professional judgment to give estimated grades.
The guide advises against over-testing and says that, where it takes place, it must be established by the teacher, it should not last more than one hour, and there should be no more than three such tests until May 14.
Specifically, it prohibits “the use of statistical or algorithmic models, such as those offered by commercial companies” and which are often associated with “simulations”. He says that these “should not be in the process of analysis and review of data and the estimation of percentage marks.”
Any efforts by parents or others to influence the qualifications of teachers will be treated very seriously; it will be covered by upcoming legislation. To minimize any such risks, the guide advises schools not to hold formal sixth-grade parent-teacher meetings between March 1 and March 28.
Online editors
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