"JACK mixed up all the answers' in his business studies test. He had all the correct answers but he put them in the wrong sentences."
No, it's not another tale of exam woes. It's the final question on the ordinary level business studies paper yesterday.
Question 8, which detailed Jack's tribulations and asked students to set things right, was "loved by students", according to Ms Rosemary Lynch, a representative of the Business Studies Teachers' Association of Ireland. In Ballyhale Vocational School, Co Kilkenny, it was enthusiastically described by one student as a "cool question".
"However, Mr John Crilly, ASTI representative for the subject, was critical of the complexity of language used in the scrambled sentences. He said some ordinary level students may have difficulties with reading.
Overall, the ordinary level paper contained no nasty surprises, according to Ms Lynch, who teaches in Fingal Community College, Swords, Co Dublin. The first section, which consisted of 20 short, compulsory questions, was very accessible - with the possible exception of question 10, which contained a difficult "cost of goods sold" calculation, she said.
Students liked question 1 of the long answer section - the household budget question, Ms Lynch said. The petty cash question was also well received. In question 3 there was a slight variation in the business letter. Students had to contend with a letter about insurance premiums rather than the usual letter of complaint. Ms Lynch also noted that there were fewer marks for the letter than in previous years.
Part B of this question, which asked students to "name one type of insurance that is necessary by law for a person to take out" was difficult for this level of student. The brevity of question 6, which dealt with the final accounts of a service firm, was praised by Ms Lynch. She also lauded the final part of the question, which asked for two reasons why farmers keep accounts. This made a welcome change from the emphasis on other businesses.
Ms Marie Butler, a business studies teacher in Ballyhale Vocational School, Co Kilkenny, said that the short questions on the ordinary level paper were of a typical standard, posing no problems for most students. The long questions were equally manageable, with the exception of question 4, which asked for a bank reconciliation - a difficult concept for this level of student, Ms Butler said.
Mr Crilly agreed. The average student might have found the bank reconciliation a little difficult; however, he said, the paper, was satisfactory overall.
Higher level students sit two papers in this subject. Students in Fingal Community College were pleasantly surprised to find that the dreaded paper 2 was not as, bad as they had expected. Both papers were accessible, with the possible exception of the short answer questions on paper 1.
Ms Lynch said that students had to read these questions carefully, as there were a number of difficult items. She pointed in particular to the second part of question 10, which asked, students to calculate the percentage net margin.
"There is more than one correct answer to question 1, the organisational chart, so I would, expect a bit of flexibility in the marking," Mr Crilly said.
Ms Butler also said that the short questions on the first higher level paper caused problems for some students. She pointed to question 3, which included an extract from Bus Eireann's timetable. The long, crowded timetable put a number of students off the question.
"Those students who are very good at accountancy - and, unfortunately, that's a minority - would have had no difficulty with the short questions," Ms Butler added. "But the second paper more than made up for this. It was the most manageable second paper since the Junior Cert came in."
Although paper 2 was not as difficult as expected, it was still taxing and students needed all the time they had, Ms Lynch said.
All of the teachers commented favourably on question 5, the industrial relations question, in the long answers section of paper 1 at higher level. There was a minor misprint in question 3 on the second paper, which was not included in the list of errors supplied to supervisor. This read "ordinary stock" when it should have said "opening stock".
Ms Lynch called it "regrettable" that a printing error should have appeared, while Ms Butler noted that even a small misprint could distract students who are already under pressure.
Mr Crilly praised the page numbering system used this year, which meant that students would quickly know if a page was inadvertently blank or missing. He said that, overall, the higher level paper was a fairly demanding one and the people who get As and Bs will deserve them.