THE points system is the fairest method available for choosing which young people go to college, according to a confidential new report drawn up for the seven universities.
The draft report prepared for the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities (CHIU) backs the Leaving Certificate as the most objective measure of students' suitability for entry to third level.
The study considers - and rejects - interviews, aptitude testing, continuous assessment and a lottery as alternative ways of selecting third-level entrants. It stresses the difficulties which would arise if the present system were changed, and the objections of various groups to the other options available.
However, the report acknowledges that school-leavers who do not get college places because of excessively high points requirements are missing out on the academic "lift" conferred by third level.
Researchers who tracked the performance of students in selected courses in different colleges found that high-performers in the Leaving Cert went on to score highly in their final exams in university. But weaker students who entered college on lower points also showed an improved academic performance in their finals, the study finds.
This year, there are 59,200 applicants for about 31,000 places at third level. The huge demand for places is likely to ensure that points requirements for many university courses remain at the high levels of recent years when the first round of CAO offers is made next week.
In rejecting continuous assessment, the report notes the opposition of most teachers to assessing their own pupils' work. Secondary teachers maintain this would place the profession under intolerable pressures.
Interviews form part of the selection procedure for a small number of third-level courses, such as the Higher Diploma in Education. But they are regarded as highly expensive and time-consuming.
The study points out the enormous logistical difficulties which would arise if interviews or aptitude tests were held for entry to all third-level courses available through the CAO.
These findings will disappoint many groups which have expressed concern about the level of competition engendered by the points race, and its effects on students' health. Politicians and parents' representatives frequently criticise the system for putting young people under enormous stress.
In addition, IBEC has attacked the system repeatedly for encouraging students to apply for courses for which they have the points, rather than those to which they are suited.
Other groups have questioned the relevance of an academically orientated, written exam to the broader-based education provided at third level, and to the needs of students in later life.
The report also considers proposals for "affirmative action" to increase third-level participation by young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. One proposal is the creation of 500 additional reserved places, to be filled at lower points levels outside the CAO system.
However, each college would be required to fund its own quota of such places through sponsorship or private funding, rather than relying on Government support.
The study was carried out by a team of academies under Prof Philip Boland of the statistics department in UCD. The final report is expected by autumn.
Among the groups which made submissions were the Higher Education Authority, the CAO, IBEC, the National Parents' Council, the teachers' unions, the Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
