THE STATE Examinations Commission is to investigate a series of embarrassing errors which have marred the exams for many students this year. In the most serious incident, 24,000 Junior Cert business students were unable to work out a cash-flow question on the higher-level business paper because incorrect figures were given.
The commission has admitted that no examiner attempted the question before the paper was printed and circulated to students. Teachers say some students wasted up to 30 minutes trying to reconcile the incorrect figures. The commission insists no students will be disadvantaged as a result of the error but pressure is growing for a rescheduling of the exam from business teachers.
Other errors on Tuesday’s Junior Cert business paper included:
- A question on credit sales and bookkeeping featured two businesses with the same address. This would have posed problems for students as marks were awarded for putting the correct address on correspondence;
- The dates mentioned in the question on profit and loss accounts in paper 2 did not tally;
- The front of paper 1 listed the date as Tuesday the 15th of June 2009.
Teachers have again raised questions about the commission’s proof-reading after a misprint on yesterday’s Junior Cert higher level German paper.
A letter written by a German pen-pal to his Irish friend included the sentiment that it would be lovely for the Irish student to come to Ireland some time.
“They meant Germany of course,” said Scatha Ní Fhearghaill, subject representative for the Teachers’ Union of Ireland. “I’m just hoping that students weren’t left doubting themselves because of it.”
The commission has issued an alert to exam superintendents about an editing error in Monday’s Leaving Cert higher accounting exam. The error will be corrected by supervisors when the papers are distributed.
The commission said the aspiration of any examining body – including the commission itself – was to “preside over a system that is completely error free. However, it is recognised, in examining circles, that this will always be an aspiration rather than a completely achievable goal.”
Apart from the errors, teachers say many Leaving Cert papers were much tougher and less predictable this year. This may be in response to the controversy earlier this year about grade inflation and the alleged “dumbing down” of the exam.
Many English students were dismayed when the much-tipped Eavan Boland did not appear in the poetry section of paper 2. Art history students were also upset to discover on Thursday that their paper did not feature Newgrange, breaking what had been a decade-long pattern of topics.