Difficult leaving certificate maths paper
Sorca Clarke raised widespread concern that the higher-level maths paper was unusually difficult and distressed students. She asked what the Taoiseach had said to the Minister for Education and the SEC, and what reassurance could be given about the 'no cliff edge' grading approach.
Last Friday, just under 25,000 leaving certificate students sat down to do the higher level mathematics paper. It was a matter of hours before telephone lines to radio stations and social media platforms across the country lit up with the complaints and criticisms that students who had never sat a State examination before because of the pandemic were faced with such an inordinately difficult maths paper. A principal in my constituency stated that the State Examinations Commission, SEC, has lost touch with students and the education system. That principal and many others have written to the SEC and received overwhelming support, not just from students and parents but also from all other principals.
We all know and accept, and students are no different, that exams are a difficult period. They are designed to challenge the learner. What they are not designed to do and what they should not do is reduce students to tears or leave them in a state of panic-----
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-----and knock them for six so much that some have been left vomiting in bathrooms. That is what was reported.
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Has the Taoiseach spoken to the Minister for Education. Has he spoken to the SEC? What commitment can he give to those students today about what this no cliff edge will look like for them?