THE BACKDROP to this year’s Leaving Certificate could scarcely be more challenging for the 55,000 students who begin their exams this morning. The economic downturn means many apprentice and training opportunities for thousands of school leavers have been closed off. Numerous traditional employment avenues into the public service have also disappeared because of a recruitment embargo. Even for those proceeding to third level, prospects look difficult with continuing high levels of graduate unemployment.
In the run-in to the exams this year, fundamental questions have been raised also about the worth of the Leaving Cert itself. The defects of the exam are obvious. It retains an old-fashioned reliance on rote learning and provides little reward for independent learning or innovative thinking. In many respects, it is unchanged since the 1930s. And in recent years, the “grind culture” mentality has contaminated it. The key focus appears to be predicting the likely exam questions; there is often little sense of learning or discovery.
On top of that the predictability of the exam has resulted in serious grade inflation over the past two decades, a trend acknowledged by the State Exams Commission. There is overwhelming evidence that weaker students are securing higher Leaving Cert scores. Unsurprisingly, US multinationals have begun to raise questions about lowering academic standards and the difficulties they face in recruiting school leavers and graduates with the kind of skills they require. The Government cannot afford to ignore these warnings given the importance of inward investment to the economy.
In truth, the Government knows the Leaving Cert requires an overhaul. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern admitted as much in this newspaper four years ago. Several former education ministers have raised concerns about the exam. Third-level colleges have also registered their limited confidence by insisting aspiring medicine students must also complete the more searching H-PAT aptitude test. Chief executive of the Higher Education Authority Tom Boland has backed reform, pointing out how students accustomed to the “spoon-fed’’ nature of the second-level curriculum often struggle at third level.
It appears Minister for Education Mary Coughlan is also anxious to overhaul the exam but only after the long-delayed review of the Junior Cert is complete. But why wait? The Department of Education was rightly praised by the task force on maths this week for its “exceptional’’ speed in rolling out the new project maths course at second level. Could much-needed Leaving Cert reform not be achieved with similar alacrity?
With luck, however, the class of 2010 will pay little heed to these background issues and will focus instead on the task in hand – while retaining perspective. The Leaving Cert remains a high stakes test which can have a major influence on career prospects but it is also only a single stepping stone along a path that can take many turns. Best wishes to all who are beginning their exams today.