THE PERCENTAGE of students taking higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert is continuing to decline, according to a new analysis by a leading educationalist.
Only 16 per cent of students took higher-level maths last year, the lowest for any honours subject, according to Dr Seán McDonagh, a former director of the Dundalk Institute of Technology and of the Government’s Skills Initiative Unit.
The current take-up of higher maths – which has dropped from 19 per cent in 2005 – means the Government is well behind its target of 25 per cent participation.
Comparing Irish and British trends, Dr McDonagh found that higher-level maths and science subjects were much more popular in Britain. Higher maths is the second most popular higher-level option in Britain, but only the eighth most popular (in terms of total student uptake) in the Republic.
The sciences are also much more popular in Britain at higher level. In Scotland , they are among the most popular subjects.
In Ireland, chemistry and physics trail in at 12th and 15th place respectively in the list of most popular higher- level subjects.
Higher biology, the most popular science subject in the Leaving Cert, exceeded the combined entries for physics and chemistry by about 7,000.
This trend is not evident in Scotland, where chemistry and physics are both hugely popular with A level students.
Other main trends include:
- Female students make up 64 per cent of all those gaining 550 CAO points or more in the Leaving Cert;
- English was by far the most popular higher Leaving Cert subject in 2008 with almost 32,000 entries, of whom 25,000 achieved honours;
- The next two higher subjects in popularity, biology and geography, attracted more than 18,000 entries each and formed, with English, more than a third of all higher-level entries;
- German, the largest EU language, attracts fewer than one-third of the numbers taking French;
- Business had twice the entries of accounting and over three times those of economics;
- In languages, males formed minorities of higher entrants. In French and German, three out of every five were female. In higher Irish, males accounted for only one in three of the candidates.
Dr McDonagh says a review of the higher Leaving Cert should assess whether the pattern of subject uptake supports national future skill strategies and future career opportunities.
He also asks whether there is an imbalance in sciences, languages and business subjects through the dominance of such subjects as biology and French.
He adds that a review might also assess whether the current Leaving Cert is sufficiently challenging for higher-level students.
