Leaving Cert maths exam not advanced enough for top students — study

Ireland has relatively few high-achieving students in maths and science and a more challenging Leaving Cert exam may be needed to help top students reach their full potential, according to new research.

The study, by researchers at the Educational Research Centre and Dublin City University, says there are lower than expected proportions of high achievers in maths and science in Ireland compared with other countries with similar levels of overall performance such as Germany, France and Denmark.

Underachievement among top students in maths and science in Ireland is more prevalent at second level rather than primary.

The findings echo other studies which show patterns of decreases in the percentages of high achievers in maths- and science-related subjects in the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert exams over the last 15 years.

Four-bed period house and mews a short walk from Greystones for €975,000

---

Have your say on ‘quiet quitting’: Do you feel pressure to work long hours?

---

Is the landlord or management company responsible for upgrading our windows?

---

Gerry Thornley: Anti-fun brigade detracted from occasion of the AIL final

---

The study drew on the findings of large-scale international assessments including Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) and Timss (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) which include thousands of teenage students across the globe.

Lower scores among students at the national 75th and 90th percentiles of maths and science performance were noted in Ireland compared with countries with similar average performance in each subject.

These findings indicate that Ireland lags behind with regards to high achievement in mathematics and science.

By contrast, students in Ireland have relatively higher numbers of high-achieving secondary students in reading.

The study notes that other research shows that post-primary schools in Ireland overly focus on the teaching of the knowledge and skills students need to perform well in State exams.

This focus may deprive some students of opportunities to develop a broad and deep understanding of a subject.

It also flags the issue of “out-of-field teaching” at second level, where teachers are assigned to teach subjects which do not correspond to their training or education.

A 2014 study showed that 24 per cent of maths teachers did not have qualifications that met the Teaching Council’s special requirements

The study’s authors — Vasiliki Pitsia, Zita Lysaght, Michael O’Leary and Gerry Shiel — conclude that a reconsideration of some aspects of second-level education in Ireland and State exams may be warranted to address the needs of high-achieving students.

Providing bonus points for Stem-related subjects is one option, while another is splitting Leaving Cert maths into two subjects, giving higher-achieving students an option to study the subject more intensively.

Ms Pitsia said while the more practical nature of applied maths might suggest that students who are mathematically inclined would have the chance to employ their knowledge and skills more directly, she added that applied maths does not necessarily cater for the high-achieving group of students in a systematic way

“Overall, this is our main argument in the paper; namely, that teaching and assessments mostly cater for low- and medium-achieving students and not higher-achievers,” she said.

“While this is not surprising, given that teaching and assessing high achievers tends to be more challenging than teaching and assessing other students, it is definitely an area that merits further attention, as outlined in the paper.”