A Dublin student is seeking a review of the marking in Leaving Cert exam papers after her original grade in English was upgraded by up to 30 per cent.
Laura Brown was awarded a B3 in her original exam but this was upgraded to an A1 - a difference of between 16 and 30 per cent - when her appeal result became known last week.
Last night the State Exams Commission (SEC) revealed that more than 300 grades in the Leaving Cert were upgraded by 10 per cent or more as a result of the appeal process.
In six cases the original marks were upgraded by 30 per cent or more, according to figures released by the commission to The Irish Times yesterday.
Ms Brown, of Castleknock, Dublin, said her situation raised wider questions about the marking scheme. "This is no small discrepancy. The difference between a B3 and an A1 is between 16 and 30 per cent, a difference of four whole grades."
She believes more stringent procedures are needed to ensure that the initial mark awarded is a fair one. She also says the results of the appeal process should be made known before students begin any college course.
Ms Brown, a UCD medical student and a former pupil at Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, said upgrades on this level could have a major impact on CAO choices, but that the results of the appeal came through only after students had already begun in college.
This year some 23 per cent of those who appealed their original Leaving Cert results were upgraded. Papers which are the subject of an appeal are rechecked by a different examiner.
A spokeswoman for the SEC said some papers were upgraded because they had been marked too harshly. She explained that the dramatic change in some grades could also be due to administrative errors, such as when an examiner failed to take account of the marks awarded in one section of an exam paper.
Broadly, Leaving Cert students will gain entry to their preferred third-level course if the appeal process upgrades their marks and gives them the extra CAO points they need.
Ms Brown said her upgrade raised her CAO score by 10 points, but it made no difference to her choice of course. "To someone in different circumstances, this upgrade could have raised them by 25 points, a potentially enormous change to the courses that become available to them. The fact of the matter is that these changes come a month too late for some."
The SEC says a "very small number" of examiners are relieved of their duties or reassigned to other work every year.
How grades changed after appeal
Upgraded by up to 5% ......................2,244 papers
up 10%...................................... 237
up 15%........................................... 45
up 20%.............................................. 21
up 25%.............................................. 11
up 30%............................................... 6
* Source: State Exams Commission
