Sir, – I was heartened to read Barry O'Callaghan's excellent piece "Could predicted grades work for this year's Leaving Cert? Yes. Here's how" (Education, Opinion, April 22nd). He clearly lays out the challenges faced by this year's Leaving Cert students and suggests a well-thought out alternative that he argues "offers the fairest possible outcome" in what are "exceptional circumstances".
So logical are his suggestions that it seems reasonable that they should become the norm. Because, contrary to popular opinion, the Leaving Cert is not a fair way to assess students’ learning.
Nothing is fair about the time-pressured regurgitation of information in high-stakes terminal exams, which predominantly assess memory and reward rote-learning.
All the issues that have been raised about unfairness for disadvantaged students during this lockdown are applicable in any given year.
The stress that students are under this year is excessive, like every other year.
The value in education lies in the development of skills through the acquisition of knowledge.
That learning has already taken place. Had we been in school this term, the majority of class time would have been spent coaching students for the exam. Surely we can agree that there are better ways to capture a more comprehensive picture of student achievement in education than sweating it out in an exam hall over a few weeks in June.
Barry O’Callaghan talks about biting the bullet and doing the right thing for the class of 2020.
Why not bite the bullet and admit that the system is not fit for purpose, accelerate the reform of the Leaving Cert and do the right thing by all future students, starting now. – Yours, etc,
MUIREANN NAGLE,
Curracloe,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – The people best placed to assess and comment upon the feasibility of holding State exams under social distancing rules are the individual principals of each of the State’s secondary schools.
Like everybody else remotely aware of how schools work, they too know full well that maintaining safe social distance in a school is impossible no matter what arrangements are put in place.
Despite this knowledge they have in general lacked the courage to speak out and say so. Now is the time for leadership. – Yours, etc,
SEAN KEAVENY,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.