Last year's Leaving Certificate history exam marks showed increases in the top three grades in the main higher level paper over 1997 and high percentages getting the top two grades at ordinary level. Last month saw controversy over the alleged difficulty of this year's higher level paper.
The chief examiner's reports for selected 1998 Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate subjects also expressed concern at the poor levels of algebra and geometry in Junior Cert mathematics. The report for Leaving Cert history shows that in the higher-level modern Irish history paper taken by the majority of candidates, the questions on Parnell, Cumann na nGaedheal and Lemass were both the most popular subjects and had the best answers. The special topic, which requires prior research, also scored high grades. However, the chief examiner expressed concern at the exam method used. "It is generally accepted that studies of this nature are best monitored in the school setting", he wrote. "Endeavouring to assess a research topic in a written test of 36 minutes' duration, sometimes up to six months after the actual study has taken place, obviously is not an ideal method".
On the ordinary level paper, the report noted "an excellent knowledge and understanding of the history of the period 1870-1966".
However, it also noted that 20 per cent had failed to achieve a D grade, a result in keeping with ordinary level results in recent years. Many candidates seemed to have inadequately prepared for the exam; they "showed little mastery of the necessary skills of recall and analysis". Turning to last year's Junior Certificate mathematics papers, the chief examiner noted that 7.2 per cent of higher level candidates had failed to achieve a D grade, the same as in 1996. He echoed the 1996 report's comments that there was a larger than usual proportion of ill-prepared candidates, with a "poor grasp of the skills and knowledge required by the syllabus". However, overall the standard of answering was good.
At both higher and ordinary level, there was "considerable cause for concern in relation to sound understanding of algebraic concepts, and basic algebraic manipulative skills".
Students across all levels found geometry difficult, with poor use of geometrical instruments, and higher level students not understanding "the coherent logical structure of a proof or deduction". However, trigonometry showed signs of improvement at both higher and ordinary levels.
The report expressed the hope that the forthcoming introduction of amended syllabuses would address some of these difficulties.