The number of students gaining honours in the Leaving Cert has increased dramatically, sparking concerns that the exam is much less demanding than a decade ago, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor.
Figures from the State Exams Commission show an increase of up to 16 per cent in the numbers gaining honours in higher-level papers over the past decade. The number of honours (grade C3 or higher) awarded in English is up 12 per cent in the past 10 years.
The honours rate has also risen significantly in art (up 16 per cent), home economics (up 14 per cent), business (up 11 per cent), history (up 14 per cent) and French (up 10 per cent). Among the 10 most popular Leaving Cert subjects, maths is the only one where the number gaining honours has declined.
Last night a leading educationalist, Tom Kellaghan of the education research centre, St Patrick's College, Dublin, said exam papers were now being marked much less harshly. Overall standards in most subjects were declining, he said, but the State Exams Commission, which runs the exams, said the increasing transparency of the exam system was largely responsible for the trend. A spokeswoman said the publication of marking schemes and sample answers had helped both teachers and students.
In further reaction, in an article in today's Irish Times, Brendan Butler of the employers' group Ibec expresses serious concern about the fall-off in maths.
This is also the only major Leaving Cert subject where the failure rate is increasing at higher level. In the past decade, the number of higher-level students failing the subject has doubled. At ordinary level, about 5,000 students fail maths every year, making them ineligible for many third-level courses.
Overall, the latest figures are good news for students ahead of this year's exam results next week. However, they will increase concerns about a so-called "dumbing down" of the exam.
The figures show how students who received grade D (40-55 per cent) a decade ago could now expect to secure an honour in most of the 10 most popular subjects. The number of grade Ds in English, for example, has fallen by 12 per cent.
Dr Kellaghan, co-author of a detailed study of exam grades two years ago, said revised, clearer courses and more focused teaching and learning help to explain the huge increase in the number of honours. However he said it was clear that overall standards were dropping in many subjects. He suggested that exam papers may now be marked too easily, whereas a decade ago they were marked too harshly.
Other education experts said the grade inflation could be traced to better study skills by students and the boom in the so-called "grinds culture". More than two-thirds of Leaving Cert students take private grinds costing up to €50 an hour.