LEAVING CERT ECONOMICS:IT WAS little surprise, given the present news agenda, that the Leaving Cert economics exam turned out to be extremely topical yesterday morning.
“What better time to be studying economics?” asked teacher and TUI representative Shane Ó Ciardubháin. “I would applaud examiners for tapping into so many real-life topics.”
The higher-level paper was testing, according to Jenny Harrington of the Business Teachers’ Association of Ireland. “It would have rewarded students who studied a wide range of topics,” she said.
Indeed the paper may have caught those who were trying to take short cuts as a widely predicted question about oligopoly – a type of market structure – failed to make an appearance.
The short questions were reasonably straightforward, teachers said. Keith Hannigan from the Institute of Education said: “Current issues highlighted . . . included water charges, government ability to increase consumer spending and unemployment.”
Longer questions – students had to answer four out of eight of these – also drew heavily on current affairs, ASTI representative Pat Collins said.
“There was a question about how the minister for health might discourage the consumption of soft drinks, for example. Question four included a section about the carbon tax, there were questions about the commercial banks, the aging population and trade.”
Mr Hannigan said the exam required students to have kept abreast of current public economic debate. “Students who focused exclusively on the defined syllabus would have found this paper very challenging.”
While 5,000 students take economics as a Leaving Cert subject, fewer than 600 of those sit the ordinary-level exam. These students were met with a fair paper, according to Ms Harrington.
“It was also very topical with questions on cross-Border shopping, deflation, commercial banking and so on.”
Mr Ó Ciardubháin said economics was the hidden gem for students interested in current affairs.