1. Reforms aim to reduce pressure on students - but will they?
The biggest criticism of the current Leaving Cert is its heavy emphasis on high-stakes written exams. Students are under acute pressure to perform on the day in marathon writing sessions.
The move to allocate 60 per cent of marks for the written exams and 40 per cent for other components such as project or practical work aims to ease some of this pressure. Similarly, moving some exams - such as English and Irish paper one - to the end of fifth year should take some of the pressure off the traditional end-of-school exams.
However, there is also a risk that spreading out exams and project work could lead to over-assessment and ongoing stress over a longer period.
For example, some schools report high levels of stress at Junior Cycle around classroom-based assessments, which are relatively low stakes assessments aimed at capturing a wider picture of student achievement. Getting this right will be a delicate balancing act.
2. Battle looms over teacher assessment
The idea of teachers assessing their own students for the purposes of a State exam was unthinkable a couple of years ago.
However, teachers played a central role in marking their own students in 2020 and 2021 after the pandemic disrupted the normal Leaving Cert.
Under Tuesday's reforms, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and State Examinations Commission (SEC) are due to jointly research and define, in consultation with education partners, how an SEC-externally moderated, school-based form of assessment would operate.
Teachers’ unions, however, have said their involvement in assessing their own students over the past two years was on a “without precedent” basis only and many are opposed to playing such a role again.
3. Attempt to build on positives from Covid-era of calculated grades
The pandemic forced what was once unthinkable: the cancellation or replacement of the traditional Leaving Cert.
A key feature of last year’s exams - where students had a choice of written exams or teacher-assessed grades - was that anxiety and stress levels were far lower than normal. Many students reported even enjoying the exams.
Some of the planned reforms announced on Tuesday seek to borrow from the experiments of 2020 and 2021.
The planned use of teacher assessments in some course components; greater use of project work and other forms of continual assessment is another. However, the majority of marks - 60 per cent - will still rest on written exams.
4. Changes will take years to fully deliver
Reform of the Junior Cycle took the best part of two decades to deliver. There were pitched battles with teachers' unions and it took years to forge agreement over a new assessment framework, followed by the roll-out of changes across individual subjects.
This time, Norma Foley seems keen to deliver changes as soon as possible. For example, Leaving Cert students entering senior cycle in September 2023 are due to sit paper one in English and Irish at the end of fifth year.
It is also intended that an initial tranche of new and revised subjects - chemistry, physics, biology and business - will be available in September 2024 for students in pilot or network schools.
However, it is likely to be 2028 or later before many of the changes are available across all schools. Changes will be applied incrementally to individual subjects. In other words, most students currently at second level may miss out on the bulk of reforms. 5. New subjects reflect students' interests
The reforms include the introduction of new subjects aimed at better reflecting students interests and support the development of a wider range of talents and skills.
There are two new subjects - drama, film & theatre studies; and climate action and sustainable development.
It is planned these subjects will be ready for students in pilot schools starting fifth year in 2024.
6. More options for students of all abilities
A major criticism of the Leaving Cert has been a stigma over the Leaving Cert Applied, and limited options for special needs students.
Under Tuesday’s announcement, Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) students will have improved access to maths and foreign languages from September 2022, broadening options for LCA students.
A new qualification will also be introduced at level one and two on the National Qualification framework to provide an appropriate level of assessment to some students with special educational needs. This builds on the equivalent programme at Junior Cycle level.
7. Will the Leaving Cert continue to be a filter for higher education?
The Leaving Cert is “too narrow and rigid” and its main focus seems to be acting as a filter for entry into higher education, according to a recent review by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Will these reforms change that?
It will depend on the extent to which reforms recognise a wider variety of skills and aptitudes, whether the CAO system will adapt in turn and whether the status problem with further and higher education can be tackled.
