RADICAL proposals have been made to introduce continuous assessment in Leaving Certificate science subjects.
Students in both physics and chemistry would be marked on their ability to perform experiments in the laboratory, under the proposals from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to the Minister for Education.
The Irish education system "relies on a terminal written exam - the Leaving Cert - to a greater extent than virtually any other Western country. Yet in spite of numerous calls for more continuous assessment, proposed changes have been dogged by logistical problems.
In the case of Leaving Cert physics and chemistry, new syllabuses incorporating practical assessment were drawn up two years ago but have remained "sitting on the shelf", according to the chief executive of the NCCA, Mr Albert O Ceallaigh.
"In international terms, there is no doubt that we are still far too reliant on written exams. There is no point in having a greater practical element in the various courses unless these new skills are properly assessed," he says.
Under proposals approved by the council last week, physics and chemistry students will be required to carry out about 29 experiments. These must be written up in a notebook and assessed by an examiner.
To prevent a "black market" developing in completed notebooks - a problem in some other subjects - students would then be interviewed by an external examiner on their work and on the content of their notebooks.
However, these changes are not likely to be introduced before 1998 to avoid what Mr John White of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) refers to as "innovation overload" - the introduction of too many new education programmes at the same time.
Last autumn, for example, thousands of teachers were taken out of the classroom to attend training courses, causing widespread disruption.
A new English syllabus will also be introduced in 1998, having been postponed after the Minister requested changes to the proposed syllabus. New syllabuses in music and business are to be introduced in autumn 1997.
The proportion of marks awarded for oral and aural tests in modern languages in the Leaving Cert is to be increased from 30 per cent, to 45 per cent from next year.
A report published by the NCCA in 1993 criticised the Leaving Cert for its over reliance on the measurement of "verbal and logico-mathematical" achievement and a lack of practical assessment in science subjects as well as the social and business studies areas.
There is also concern that the greater practical emphasis of the Junior Cert programme, introduced in 1990, is not followed on in most subjects in the Leaving Cert.
