THE LEAVING Cert exam has been significantly "dumbed down" and there is evidence of widespread grade inflation, according to a new study of exam grades.
The study, to be published shortly, is the first to track Leaving Cert grades across 24 subjects over almost two decades.
Its key finding is that the number of students gaining A and B grades in many higher-level subjects has nearly doubled since 1991. But the study finds little evidence to support higher academic standards. "In the most recent European-wide OECD/PISA study, there has been no detectable improvement in mathematics, reading and science in Irish 15-year-olds between 2000 and 2006, and so such an explanation of the increased Leaving Certificate results does not hold up."
Last night, the co-author of the study, Dr Brendan Guilfoyle, told The Irish Times the widespread grade inflation now threatens the long-standing integrity of the Leaving Cert exam.
He also warned: "Should this trend continue we could end up in the situation that has arisen in the UK. There, grade inflation has been so severe in the A levels that third-level institutions are devising their own independent entry exams."
The study concludes: "That there has been massive grade increase in the Leaving Certificate Examination over the period considered is beyond dispute and even a cursory inspection of the data confirms this . . . There is little evidence of higher academic standards. The increase is simply grade inflation - higher grades being awarded more easily."
The survey shows an astonishing increase in the percentage of students gaining Grade A and B (70-100 per cent) in Leaving Cert higher-level papers since 1991.
In English, the percentage gaining an A or B has doubled from 19 to 38 per cent. In geography the A and B rate is up from 20 per in 1991 to 41 per cent in 2006. In business, high grades doubled from 20 to 40 per cent.
The study also shows a dramatic fall in the number of students gaining a D grade at higher level. It suggests that students who gained a Grade C or D in 1991 could now aspire to a B or even an A grade in most subjects.
The study also finds that far fewer students are failing Leaving Cert papers. The new study says the grade inflation is all the more remarkable because the number of students opting for higher level has dramatically increased. It notes how "the lowering of standards in the higher-level subjects has driven this increase".
Dr Guilfoyle is a lecturer in maths at IT Tralee where his co-author Martin O'Grady is a lecturer in psychology. Both are leading figures in the Network for Educational Standards, which campaigns against grade inflation.
