Some second-level schools are going ahead with ‘mock’ exams for Leaving Cert students despite strong advice from the Department of Education not to run them.
The ‘mocks’ are not prohibited, but schools cannot use them as a basis for estimated marks to be awarded to students under the accredited grades process.
Official guidance recommends that teachers conduct no more than three one-hour assessments – much shorter than a typical mock paper and spread between now and the middle of May – to gather evidence for estimated marks.
Apart from not wanting to subject students to over-assessment, with exam candidates only back in the classroom this week for the first time since Christmas, schools have been told to focus on teaching and learning.
Dublin s Q102 By Mike Gilmore
A student union has criticised the ASTI s approach towards talks on state exams.
The ASTI last night threw talks on the state exams into disarray, withdrawing from dialogue over disagreements on the format of this year s Leaving Cert.
The Department of Education was offering a traditional exam along with the backup plan of calculated grades.
After last year s grading process, ASTI President, Ann Piggott, explains that they have no faith in calculated grades. We have a problem with calculated grades because of the issues it threw up last year. Last year we entered into this on a once-off commitment.