Weakness in some subjects tied to exam reform delay

DISAPPOINTING results in several Leaving Certificate subjects this year have been linked to a three year delay in planned reforms to the examination system.

New courses emphasising practical abilities, initially due to start last year, will not now be introduced until 1998.

The subjects involved are English, physics and chemistry. Lower grades in these subjects and history were the main disappointments in an otherwise favourable set of results collected by 59,000 students yesterday.

The high failure rates in the science subjects and history have prompted calls for radical changes in the leaving Cert. Fianna Fail's education spokesman, Mr Micheal Martin, said the exam was not serving the needs of a significant number of students.

The assessment of students' practical work forms an important part of the new physics and chemistry courses, but these cannot be introduced until a way is found to overcome the objections of most teachers to assessing their pupils.

Revision of the new English course had been delayed by disagreements over the teaching of grammar and the status of Shakespeare. The revised syllabus, which places a much greater emphasis on language skills and keeps Shakespeare compulsory at high level, has now been approved by the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach. However, the earliest possible introduction date is 1998.

A report published last week by the Department's English examiners said many students were leaving school without basic writing skills. Even very bright students may be unable to write grammatically correct sentences the report said.

"It's probably true that insufficient attention has been paid to the systematic development of language skills. But the new syllabus represents a sea change in this respect," said Mr Albert O Ceallaigh, chief executive of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) which, drew it up.

Mr O Ceallaigh said the assessment of practical skills would benefit academically weaker students whose true abilities were not measured adequately by a written exam.

Mr Martin said English and the other languages were the greatest victims" of the points system.

There is too much classroom time given to poems, plays and novels with not enough time given to the teaching of basic language skills. it is still much more difficult to achieve high grades in language as opposed to maths and sciences."

NCCA course committees have revised about two thirds of Leaving Cert syllabuses, but the introduction of the new courses in being staggered to avoid "curriculum overload".

Reaction from teachers to this year's results was largely favourable. There was a particular welcome for the higher grades in Irish one principal, Mr Martin Naughton of St Aloysius college in Athlone, said they were the best he had ever seen outside a Gaeltacht school.

Some teachers were disappointed with the scarcity of high grades awarded in English and business organisation.

Conradh na Gaeilge expressed satisfaction with the improved results in Irish which, it said, were due to the introduction of a foundation level course for weaker students.

Its spokesman, Mr Sean Mac Mathuna, called on the Minister to speed up the reform of the primary curriculum in Irish to tie in with changes made at second level.

The president of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, Mr John Mulcahy, asked parents to value their children for what they were, not for how many points they might have gained.