Moving school to sit LC

seriouslysweet

Just wondering has anyone in Galway ever done this?
I'd like to move to a weaker school to sit my papers so I stand out a bit more than in my own school. Does that happen much in Galway? I know it does in Cork, my cousin did it there. Thanks

gaeilgegrinds1

Yes it happens, no I don't agree with it and no you're not entitled to do it. The school CAN allow you. Have heard this happening goodo this year though.

LadyMayBelle

seriouslysweet wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone in Galway ever done this?
I'd like to move to a weaker school to sit my papers so I stand out a bit more than in my own school. Does that happen much in Galway? I know it does in Cork, my cousin did it there. Thanks

Excuse my ignorance as I havent heard if this. What is the benefit exactly?

Seaneh

LadyMayBelle wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance as I havent heard if this. What is the benefit exactly?

More attention from Teachers, more one on one time.

ImpossibleDuck

seriouslysweet wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone in Galway ever done this?
I'd like to move to a weaker school to sit my papers so I stand out a bit more than in my own school. Does that happen much in Galway? I know it does in Cork, my cousin did it there. Thanks

LadyMayBelle wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance as I havent heard if this. What is the benefit exactly?

I think OP is assuming Leaving Cert exams are marked on a comparative basis vs. the rest of their school.

While the LC is comparatively marked, it's compared on a nationwide scale. Therefore, (apart from orals/projects) it won't matter if you switch school.

Grade percentages are set out for each subject. For example, let's say history. Let's say they put a cap at 12% of people getting A's. For argument's sake let's say 100,000 people sit the LC this year. 12,000 people are allowed to get A's. Now if 12,500 people have A-standard papers, the bottom 500 will be marked down to a lower grade. Your result is determined by comparing you to the rest of the country, not to the rest of your school.

(Obviously the above is greatly exaggerated for argument's sake)

I'm almost positive this is how it works but I'd seriously advise asking this is the LC forum instead of Galway City :pac:

EDIT: Wait, wait, wait. OP, are you in 4th or 5th year? Are you intending on attending the school for a year or just sitting the paper in that school?

EyeSight

Seaneh wrote: »

More attention from Teachers, more one on one time.

that does not happen. i did my LC in cork 4 years ago and was 1 of 4 people doing higher level maths in the entire year. we did not get more "one on one" time. we were basically put down the back of an ordinary level class and whenever the teacher had a few spare moments he would check on us to see if we needed anything. had to basically teach ourselves. and it wasn't the teachers fault, he did his best.

also the "weaker" schools usually have less funds and resources so you would get even less help

i see absolutely no reason to do this. don't waste time or energy on this and study instead

leavingcert.

ImpossibleDuck wrote: »

I think OP is assuming Leaving Cert exams are marked on a comparative basis vs. the rest of their school.

While the LC is comparatively marked, it's compared on a nationwide scale. Therefore, (apart from orals/projects) it won't matter if you switch school.

Grade percentages are set out for each subject. For example, let's say history. Let's say they put a cap at 12% of people getting A's. For argument's sake let's say 100,000 people sit the LC this year. 12,000 people are allowed to get A's. Now if 12,500 people have A-standard papers, the bottom 500 will be marked down to a lower grade. Your result is determined by comparing you to the rest of the country, not to the rest of your school.

(Obviously the above is greatly exaggerated for argument's sake)

I'm almost positive this is how it works but I'd seriously advise asking this is the LC forum instead of Galway City :pac:

EDIT: Wait, wait, wait. OP, are you in 4th or 5th year? Are you intending on attending the school for a year or just sitting the paper in that school?

Have to partly disagree! My teacher, who has marked for 12 years, said that yes, there is a certain percentage, eg 12%, but if she is given a bundle of 100, then 12 HAVE TO get an A, thus, she may sometimes have to upgrade marks, or in other cases, downgrade. So ya, if your paper is among weaker students, you probably will have a better chance.

EyeSight

EyeSight wrote: »

that does not happen. i did my LC in cork 4 years ago and was 1 of 4 people doing higher level maths in the entire year. we did not get more "one on one" time. we were basically put down the back of an ordinary level class and whenever the teacher had a few spare moments he would check on us to see if we needed anything. had to basically teach ourselves. and it wasn't the teachers fault, he did his best.

also the "weaker" schools usually have less funds and resources so you would get even less help

i see absolutely no reason to do this. don't waste time or energy on this and study instead

I think the OP may be trying to switch from a school with perhaps two full higher level maths classes to one like your own - the logic being that their paper which will have had two years in a dedicated higher level class will look relatively better than the others in the weaker school which have had to share class time with an ordinary class.

seriouslysweet

Just wanted to sit it in another school, they're marked per batch, on a curve. Yes there is a national curve but you'll stand out if you're the best in a really weak school.

Medicine333

seriouslysweet wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone in Galway ever done this?
I'd like to move to a weaker school to sit my papers so I stand out a bit more than in my own school. Does that happen much in Galway? I know it does in Cork, my cousin did it there. Thanks

Are you for real? Just work hard and do your best and you'll get the mark you deserve.

No need for this kind of rubbish you're talking about.

biko

Galway -> Leaving Cert

spurious

leavingcert. wrote: »

Have to partly disagree! My teacher, who has marked for 12 years, said that yes, there is a certain percentage, eg 12%, but if she is given a bundle of 100, then 12 HAVE TO get an A, thus, she may sometimes have to upgrade marks, or in other cases, downgrade. So ya, if your paper is among weaker students, you probably will have a better chance.

This isn't true.
Yes, overall each year fits in with percentages, but that does not mean the percentages are applied in each centre/bundle. So, if your paper is among weak students, you have exactly the same chance as if it is in a class of higher achieving students.

QueenofSpades

A LC marker said that he was correcting papers last year and that he got a call from his supervisor ordering him to bring 3 people up to an A. He replied saying that he only had 2 with high B's and the next was a low B3. He was ordered to bring all three up. So the curve matters.:(

I've heard people in private schools going to state schools just to sit the exam, so it does happen (though i also dont agree with it)

Medicine333

QueenofSpades wrote: »

A LC marker said that he was correcting papers last year and that he got a call from his supervisor ordering him to bring 3 people up to an A. He replied saying that he only had 2 with high B's and the next was a low B3. He was ordered to bring all three up. So the curve matters.:(

I've heard people in private schools going to state schools just to sit the exam, so it does happen (though i also dont agree with it)

I'm sorry, but I don't believe that for a second.

A low B3 suddenly catapulted to an A?

I can't stand baseless rumours. They're no help to anybody.

Canard

Agreed, that just is not true. A B3 is a B3. An A2 bordering an A1 is believable, but that's a total lie. If that happened then logically the B3 person gets marks for things that a C1 person didnt, and there'd be uproar.

gaeilgegrinds1

I know I was told to bring a load of mediocre Bs up to As when I was correcting...so it does happen.

PictureFrame

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

I know I was told to bring a load of mediocre Bs up to As when I was correcting...so it does happen.

When you say 'mediocre B's' do you mean like a B2?

ju_q

Having marked state exams for the last five years there is some truth to what's been said. Each year the results fit into a curve, however that doen't mean that if you sit your paper in a school where you perceive the students to be weaker than you that you will do better. The grades of every candidate who sat that subject at the same level have to fit - more or less - into a curve. Therefore, if there is a higher percentage of As for example in comparison to previous years, the marking scheme will be tightned up, or loosened is the % is lower. This is not to penalise candidates, but to compensate for the possibility of differing rates of difficulty from year to year. I;m not saying that the system is flawless, but that's the way it works.
So OP, you'd really be wasting your time moving schools on the basis that you think you;d get an easier run of it in a 'weaker' school. Even for orals and practical exams, all of the examiners are teachers who have seen and heard all different standards. They are not that easily fooled!

spurious

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

I know I was told to bring a load of mediocre Bs up to As when I was correcting...so it does happen.

Yes it happens, but on a national, not local scale.
They do not tell you to pick them from a certain centre.
All of your mediocre Bs would have been brought up, not just some selected from a particular centre.

I realise this sounds mad to some students, but you do 'have' to have a roughly similar spread of marks each year, otherwise you would get Leaving Certs like vintage wine - a 2004 being 'better' than a 2001 for example (random years).

I was involved in an exam one year where almost 80% of candidates who attempted a question mis-read it and answered on a completely different topic. The first 'round' of correcting, we were instructed to give no marks to those who had answered the 'wrong' question, which I thought was fair enough, until the effect that that was having on the overall marks was seen.

We ended up having to mark and give marks to the candidates who had answered completely the wrong question, but dock them in the OM, as otherwise there would have been a tiny percentage of A grades and that year's exam would have been much harder than other years, which would not have been fair on the candidates.

Bottom line is that adjustment of marks and marking schemes happens, for a good reason and is applied nationally, not just to a particular centre, so moving school makes no difference to how your paper is marked.

alleystar

seriouslysweet wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone in Galway ever done this?
I'd like to move to a weaker school to sit my papers so I stand out a bit more than in my own school. Does that happen much in Galway? I know it does in Cork, my cousin did it there. Thanks

This mentality is a disgrace. I wish peple would cop on, seems like you'll do anything to get a few more points. I would laugh if the so called "weaker" school had a bright bunch of students sitting the LC this year.


I cannot believe this even happens. It would make an interesting article in the Independent, I can just imagine the headlines.

gaeilgegrinds1

Oh yes it was on a national scale. It's a complex business this correcting. I really think for the oral it might benefit a student as they really WOULD stand out. As for this making a good article, hardly a new idea, this has been happening for years!

Togepi

I've honestly never heard of this.

I've been told (no idea if it's true) that some fee-paying schools pick the students they want to sit the exams in their school (ie. the best students) and the rest sit them in their old schools. The result is a fantastic record of high-achievers for the fee-paying school. Has anyone heard of this? It sounds fairly insane to me.

alleystar

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

As for this making a good article, hardly a new idea, this has been happening for years!

Never really discussed in the media though, not to my knowledge anyway. And yeah I think it would be worth reading if researched properly- would show how desperate students are for points.

rainbowtrout

Togepi wrote: »

I've honestly never heard of this.

I've been told (no idea if it's true) that some fee-paying schools pick the students they want to sit the exams in their school (ie. the best students) and the rest sit them in their old schools. The result is a fantastic record of high-achievers for the fee-paying school. Has anyone heard of this? It sounds fairly insane to me.

No that's not true. It's not that I or anyone on here could confirm it but a student registered in a school just can't be told 'go sit your exams in another school'

What does happen however is that some fee paying schools advertise in August/September saying things like :

'10 of our students got 600 points and another 15 got 590' (aren't we brilliant). What they fail to mention is if they had 25 students in the school or 500. Nor do they ever mention if a student fails a subject, why would they want to do that? One of my cousin's went to a fee paying school, got around 350 in the LC. Got what he needed, but I don't ever remember his grades being lauded in the paper as a testament to what could be achieved in the fee paying school.


Just to echo what the other examiners have said on here : the marking scheme/curve is applied nationally not to a centre/school so the OP won't benefit by believing that their exams will stand out in a 'weaker school' if they are the deserving of an A for their paper they will get it whether it's in with a bunch of D and E papers or a bunch of A papers. The marking scheme is applied in the same way to every paper.

Actually I'm pretty disgusted by the OP's attitude. I've encountered plenty of students over the years who engage in 'grade shopping' of this sort and it's a really horrible way to look at students in other schools.

Other students are not there to make you look good, you should be able to do that for yourself wherever you sit the exam.

gaeilgegrinds1

I don't find this disgusting, more disturbing the lengths people have to go to. I've read some of the OPs other posts and they appear to be working really hard, obviously panic setting in. I don't think it should be allowed though, it is done a lot though, moving school that is.

JDOC1996

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I just have a question.
I'm in a Gaelcholaiste, and therefore have fluent irish, along with the rest of my year. What effect will this have on my irish exam, seeing as most of us are well capable of achieving A grades? Will there be a limit to the people in my year who can achieve an A grade?

spurious

JDOC1996 wrote: »

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I just have a question.
I'm in a Gaelcholaiste, and therefore have fluent irish, along with the rest of my year. What effect will this have on my irish exam, seeing as most of us are well capable of achieving A grades? Will there be a limit to the people in my year who can achieve an A grade?

No there won't be a limit.
Most of your school will end up in whatever percentage nationally get A grades.
You will be marked according to the same marking scheme as the rest of the country.

PictureFrame

JDOC1996 wrote: »

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I just have a question.
I'm in a Gaelcholaiste, and therefore have fluent irish, along with the rest of my year. What effect will this have on my irish exam, seeing as most of us are well capable of achieving A grades? Will there be a limit to the people in my year who can achieve an A grade?

No limit. For some reason this year our English class has 11 A1's and I think 4 A2's out of a class of 22.. It was completely unprecedented and way higher than the school had ever experienced before in terms of receiving A's in Higher Level English.. There definitely is no limit within a School setting, national, yes, school no!

JDOC1996

That's an immense relief, thanks for the replys!