Leaving Cert: masks not permitted in oral exams to ensure clear communication

Leaving Cert students will not be permitted to wear face masks during oral exams which take place shortly, according to official guidance being issued to secondary schools.

Instead, Perspex screens will be used between candidates and teachers during interviews on the basis that masks would interfere with clear communication and recordings.

Oral exams for tens of thousands of Leaving Cert students are set to get under way in schools during the Easter break between March 26th and April 15th.

In a normal year, an external examiner appointed by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) carries out an oral language interview with candidates and assesses their performance.

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This year, however, interviews will be carried out by a teacher appointed by the school and will be audio-recorded.

Garda vetted

These recordings will forwarded to the SEC, which will appoint examiners to award marks based on the recordings.

Official guidance says these interviews should be undertaken by a teacher of the school or one who is locally based, wherever possible.

The interviewer should be a registered or retired teacher who has sufficient proficiency in the relevant language to carry out the interviews properly.

No interviewer should be allowed to carry out an interview with a close relative.

In cases where teachers or interviewers are not Garda vetted, a fast-track vetting process will be put in place to ensure they are processed in time.

Interviewers will be given confidential instructions and will be required to ensure evidence of each candidate’s level of achievement is elicited and recorded in accordance with the instructions.

The guidance warns that if a teacher does not give enough time to the interview or omits to cover certain areas of required questioning, the SEC will not be able to compensate for this.

“Such a candidate might then receive a lower mark than they would have if the interview had been carried out in full accordance with the guidance. Schools must make every effort to ensure that the interviews are carried out properly in the first place,” it states.

Under public health rules, the interviewer must remain in the same room for the duration of the work.

The candidate and interviewer must be separated by at least 2m, while students will be required to use their own pens to sign relevant documents.

No sharing of documents with picture sequences, topic cards and role plays will be permitted, unless they can be sanitised between candidates.

All surfaces and the digital recording equipment will need to be sanitised between interviews, while rooms must be adequately ventilated.

Students categorised as “very high risk” along with those forced to self-isolated for Covid-19 reasons may have their interview over Zoom or other video-conferencing platforms.

Guidance

In these cases, “suitable arrangements” will need to be made to check the candidate does not have access to materials other than those required for the interview, or access to any other person who might prompt or assist them.

The guidance suggests arranging for the student to show the full surroundings of the room and desk they are at.

If the presence of another person in the room during the interview is necessary for medical or other support reasons, then they “should remain behind the candidate and visible”.

For students absent through illness, there will be a facility to request a late oral exam which may take place between April 15th and 30th.

Teachers hired to conduct interviews will be paid just under €20 per interview, while examination aides who may he hired by schools will receive almost €150 a day.