Additional maths paper errors acknowledged by exam body

There have been at least three errors in Leaving Cert maths papers at higher and ordinary level taken by students on Monday and last Friday. The body that devises and writes the questions on State examinations has rejected claims that there were a further three errors, as suggested by maths teachers.

The State Examinations Commission has issued a number of statements on examination paper errors since the discovery of a major error in Leaving Cert maths higher level paper two, completed by students yesterday morning.

The trigonometry question 8a included an incorrect number that made it possible for students to get two correct answers.

The Irish Maths Teachers' Association claimed earlier today on RTÉ that there were numerous errors in the Leaving maths papers at higher, ordinaryfoundation levels.

Association spokeswoman and teacher Catherine Lewis suggested on Morning Ireland that if it had been material in a school she would have assumed it had been work done in a rush. More errors had occurred than she had seen in 20 years, she said.

The commission acknowledged errors in the Higher Maths paper two in a fresh statement this afternoon.

It said that question 5 on last Friday’s Ordinary Level paper one examination also contained an error, caused by changes related to the maths syllabus. The students were asked to do questions that were no longer on the syllabus.

It also accepted there had been a typographical error in Friday’s Leaving cert Foundation Level paper one.

The Commission had detected the error after the exams had been printed but it considered the error was unlikely to affect students and that reading out a correction to students might cause confusion.

Ms Lewis had also said there were other errors caused by the syllabus changes where students were asked to do tasks that were not on the syllabus.

The commission said however that this was not the case and that it was satisfied that the material referred to “is on the relevant syllabus”.

The commission pointed out, however, that it remained a “core principle” that students could not be disadvantaged as the result of an error.

Difficulties that arise in relation to errors are taking into account by the chief examiner when completing the marking scheme to be applied to the various subjects, a commission spokeswoman said.