As 56,000 students begin their Leaving Cert this morning, new figures indicate that a substantial number are opting out of higher- level papers on the day of the exam.
This has led education experts to caution that students might be panicking unnecessarily on the first exam day, impacting on the number of CAO points they obtain. Figures released by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), which oversees exams, show that nearly 2,300 students dropped from higher- to lower-level maths last year.
According to the figures, supplied by schools in January and February last year, 11,700 students said they would be sitting the higher-level maths exams. However, only 9,450 students actually took the higher-level paper. Similarly, almost 1,900 students changed from ordinary to foundation-level maths.
A spokeswoman for the SEC said many students would have decided to take a lower-level maths paper months in advance of the exam, but only indicated this on the day itself. Figures for other subjects are not yet available, she added.
However, Mr John McGabhann of the Teachers' Union of Ireland said some students do drop down a level on the day of the exam. The problem is more prevalent in maths-related subjects and is often due to students giving in to exam-day nerves.
"We would generally say people should go with their gameplan," said Mr McGabhann. "Dropping back on the day can involve a significant drop in your points.You have prepared for a higher-level paper . . . This may not suit an ordinary-level paper."