The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, is set to abandon plans for a new two-stage Leaving Certificate, after school managers refused to back her proposals.
In a move designed to ease pressure on students, the Minister had proposed a new format in which students would take some exams in Irish and English early in the academic year.
But a working party - established to consider the proposal - has rejected the move.
Last night, a representative said: "The Minister strongly believes it [ the two-stage exam] is the right thing to do for students. Obviously it cannot proceed if the management bodies don't support it."
The Minister had been pushing for agreement on the new two-stage exam which she had hoped to roll out in time for next year's exams. But this is now being ruled out.
A draft report submitted to the Department of Education and Science from the working party says any plan to hold two-stage exams would present huge logistical problems for schools.
The working party, comprising the main education partners and representatives from the State Exams Commission, also includes representatives from the three powerful school management groups, the Joint Managerial Body (JMB), the Irish Vocational Education Association and the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools.
The Minister had wanted to see the first papers in both Irish and English taken in May - in advance of the main June exams. Last year, she said there was no reason why these papers, which feature "unseen" essay and comprehension sections, should not be taken in advance of the June exams.
School managers say they would face huge difficulties establishing exam centres in schools in May while normal classes were continuing. They are also reluctant to establish exam centres on Saturday mornings.
Last night, the representative for the Minister said she planned a detailed consultation on the issue of Leaving Certificate timetables if returned to office after the election. This would "seek to establish whose interests are best served by any change made to the current system".
Ms Hanafin's proposal for a two-stage exam came last year amid increasing concern about the huge burden placed on students during the Leaving Certificate. On some days, higher-level students can be in exam halls for almost seven hours.
Last year, Ms Hanafin said the introduction of a two-stage exam "would have the benefit of reducing the much criticised stress imposed on students by a single high-stakes terminal examination." During her tenure, Ms Hanafin has pushed for practical changes to the Leaving Certificate, such as changes to the timetable, rather than the more ambitious plans proposed by her advisory group, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
The NCCA has proposed an ambitious three-year rolling programme for the Leaving Certificate. This would include elements of the Transition Year programme. But the department has been slow to back the plan, which could cost more than €50 million extra to implement. The Minister has dubbed the NCCA plans the "Rolls-Royce option" for exam reform.
