The Minister for Education has announced that he is setting up a commission to examine the impact of the points system on students' personal development. It will also examine its impact on school organisation in terms of subject choices, teaching methods, learning and assessment techniques, the effect on students' choice of university courses and the impact on students from disadvantaged areas.
This review of the culture of learning is to be welcomed in the context of the ongoing work of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the debate on educational aims which led to the Education Bill.
The points system was introduced 21 years ago. Although details have changed to develop consistency between colleges, the basic structure of the system is the same today as in 1976.
The State was then beginning its ninth year of free secondary education and university places were under pressure from the increasing number of students finishing the Leaving Cert. The RTCs were in their infancy and students did not have the range of certificate and diploma courses now open to them.
However, the increase in the number of third-level places has not kept pace with rising population; the increased retention rates in secondary education; and the greater demand for third-level courses. This has meant that the points system has taken on a more central role in selecting students for scarce places. It does so in a way that is transparent, consistent and free from interference.
However, just over half the applicants get places and some of these places are second choices. For many the experience is truly "brutal". It is indeed fair to ask whether the system devised in 1976 is the most appropriate for 1997 and beyond?
Any form of assessment is likely to cause some level of stress for students. There is now a review of assessment procedures designed to lower the stress associated with a final exam, such as the Leaving Cert.
Educational qualifications are important resources in a highly-competitive employment market. This has led to an inflation of credentials, devaluing the merit of a good Leaving Cert compared with 20 years ago, and giving rise to an increased pressure for third-level qualifications. The Leaving Cert is no longer seen as a certificate of general education but rather as a means to an end (selection to further education).
This highly competitive environment ensures that the points system dominates perspectives on learning throughout the senior cycle. Recent curricular developments, such as the introduction of the Leaving Cert Applied and the Vocational Leaving Cert, have sought to emphasise a different culture from the academic stress traditionally associated with the Leaving Cert.
These programmes stress personal development, new teaching methods and assessment techniques. It would be a pity if these educational experiences were not to be continued into the Leaving Cert programme or if they were to be devalued in any way by a "points culture".
The social dimension of the uptake of particular Leaving Cert programmes is in need of some investigation. Is there an over-representation of students from disadvantaged areas in the new Leaving Cert Applied? Certainly, these students are under-represented in third-level courses.
Whereas providing access for all students has been largely achieved in the State, there is still a large gap in the "consumption" level of educational services by different social groups. In the highly competitive education market, individuals with access to greater economic, social and cultural resources will invest these to maintain their relative advantage. This is reflected in the uptake of foreign exchange programmes, grinds, repeat Leaving Certs and private college tuition.
The decision to grant everyone free third-level fees may contribute to the continuation of this practice which enables the maintenance of a status quo in which the relative position of social groups in Ireland has remained relatively constant over the past 30 years.
Some system is needed to select students for third-level places. The present system has the advantage of clarity. It promotes a sense of focus and hard work in preparation for examinations and emphasises performance and competition - all well-respected values in the business world. Those who come out on top usually benefit from the system.
Yet, we still have a high level of failure or drop-out in third-level colleges in first year, many of them students with high points. This indicates some difficulty with the validity of the system as a mechanism for allocating places.
Those who study exam results will note a fairly consistent pattern of grade distribution in each subject from year to year. Students develop perceptions about the different subjects - that it is easier to get a B in a particular subject than in another. This can often push them to select the "easier" subject for the purpose of getting better points.
There is also some evidence of grade inflation over the past 10 years, which may reflect rising standards, more repeat students or a politics of correction which makes some subjects more attractive by offering a higher proportion of top grades, but in fact may cloak a lowering of standards.
The points system also lends prestige to desirable courses with low numbers of places. The headline question in last week's Education and Living - "Should I be a brain surgeon or should I settle for being a good scientist?" - accurately reflects a state of mind where the points level rather than aptitude determines the choices students are making.
Schools also adapt to the pressures of the points system. They often invest heavily in providing a wide range of subject choices for their Leaving Cert students, which has implications for resources at junior cycle. This affects teaching practice at this level which, in turn, has implications for the way primary schools prepare students for secondary school.
The effects of the points system extend also to the courses for which students are chosen. The Leaving Cert tests only a limited range of skills. By using this limited range, it is interesting to reflect on the culture shift that occurs in some of the professions. For instance, with the high emphasis on academic performance in medicine, one can speculate if the profession is now being staffed by more technically and laboratory-oriented doctors, with little room for the GP with a good bedside manner.
There seems to be some case to be made that a basic points requirements be set up for each course and that a more specific aptitude test be applied for every student who meets that criterion before a final choice is made.
The brief given to the commission is very wide. It signals a wide examination of the culture of achievement in Irish education. As long as there is a competitive environment in the allocation of third-level places, there will always be some form of imperfect points system.
My hunch is that the commission will have to focus on methods to counterbalance negative effects of such a system by a different kind of investment in schools. One way would be to develop the guidance counsellor service, especially in smaller schools, to allow greater focus on discovering aptitude, particularly in younger students.
Changing the culture of learning will require continued investment in school resources; new thinking on assessment procedures; a greater emphasis on supporting and empowering teachers; and helping students and parents focus on educational goals which develop well-rounded and well-educated young adults.
Dr David Tuohy SJ is the director of educational administration programmes at University College Dublin. His particular interest is on the organisational culture of schools, particularly the effect of administrative structures on student learning.