Leaving Cert to be cancelled

Dank Janniels

When they cancelled the Orals and Practicals they should have replaced them with another type of project like a mini thesis or a project based on the practical or other subject, like the art portfoilo. Would have been something for the students to focus on during the lockdown

Ficheall

GazzaL wrote: »

That would also punish students who want to get on with their lives, holding them back when they want to go to college, or get an apprenticeship or go to work. Plus you'd have twice the number of students doing the LC.

A lot of people have been inconvenienced by the virus, tbf.

touts

The lawyers are going to make a fortune. Every teacher in the country will be getting solicitors letters after the results come out. A few in less desirable areas will have to check under their cars every morning before turning the key on the ignition. This is a clusterfu*k of an idea.

The exams could have been held with a little desire. Use every room in the school. Have lots of invigilators. Strict rules on social distancing arriving and leaving the school.

But no instead they bowed to the pressure of the Irish Secondary Students Union whoever the **** they are.

CageWager

I don’t get why the LC would need to be cancelled - the schools were closed in mid-March of 6th year, so only about 6 weeks of classes left. The full curriculum should have been comfortably covered by March of 6th year with the last c.2 months for revision.

Students have all the materials to do their final revision from home and in fact this whole situation has resulted in them having even more time than normal to study.

So why the call for no exam? If I spent 2 years of my life studying for an exam I’d want to get my reward in the end. Cancelling and predictive grades are such a cop out.

This will only result in court challenges from well off parents who are not happy with predictive grades and the allocation of college places next year.

Donald Trump

Andrew00 wrote: »

I done nothing during the year of PLC bar drinking down the pub with the lads, even while we were meant to be in class

But the teacher gave most of us a good mark just so it reflects good on him

That might have been fine and suited yourself. And it is an important point to point out that there are alternate routes and backdoors to get to do what you want to do if you stick at it.



I just personally wouldn't see the merit in deliberately going down that route if a person could get in the front door.

GazzaL

CageWager wrote: »

I don’t get why the LC would need to be cancelled - the schools were closed in mid-March of 6th year, so only about 6 weeks of classes left. The full curriculum should have been comfortably covered by March of 6th year with the last c.2 months for revision.

Students have all the materials to do their final revision from home and in fact this whole situation has resulted in them having even more time than normal to study.

So why the call for no exam? If I spent 2 years of my life studying for an exam I’d want to get my reward in the end. Cancelling and predictive grades are such a cop out.

This will only result in court challenges from well off parents who are not happy with predictive grades and the allocation of college places next year.

Even if the full curriculum hadn't been 100% completed, all they have to do is increase question choices in exams to give students the best opportunity to do well.

Jizique

GazzaL wrote: »

If we were a nation with balls it could have gone ahead. A poor reflection on the country.

Agree - responding to the twitter mob.
Surely anyone who didn’t want to do it could just have stayed away; the reality is that the date set is 12weeks away, and the chances of any 18 year old getting it let alone suffering any major effects is so small that the decision not to hold is shocking.
The lack of clarity on who is at risk from this awful disease is a disgrace - we need the data to help put peoples minds at ease.

Downlinz

Current proposals will have bars opened by early August but they've deemed it unsafe for students to sit at a desk for a few hours?

They're throwing our education system in the gutter to spare students and parents the stress of uncertainty whether it'd go ahead for a mystery untested system that's guaranteed to be less fair than the previous model?

Surely the logical thing here is to plan for the exams to go ahead in July / August and prepare this alternate predictive grading approach as an emergency backup in case that can't happen. That gives everyone certainty and prioritises the fair and proven testing model.

To scrap it for a plan B they appear to be making up as they go along feels like insanity and complete ineptitude.

ldy4mxonucwsq6

So probably have a situation now where teachers are going to have reams of work to go through and back up any grade they do give with a load of evidence to justify/explain that grade.

Not a nice position to be in for the students or the teachers.

Surely in a digital age there is an easier and fairer alternative?

Or why not just do it the usual way but with students social distancing and with more invigilators.

.

GazzaL

Jizique wrote: »

Agree - responding to the twitter mob.
Surely anyone who didn’t want to do it could just have stayed away; the reality is that the date set is 12weeks away, and the chances of any 18 year old getting it let alone suffering any major effects is so small that the decision not to hold is shocking.
The lack of clarity on who is at risk from this awful disease is a disgrace - we need the data to help put peoples minds at ease.

You'd swear the Government make policies based on the ****e coming from the Twitter mob and de Facebook luvvies. These people are not reflective of society. Most normal people think they are complete eejits.

Amirani

rob316 wrote: »

On nothing? Are you serious? He's the loudest voice on the NPHET

NPHET doesn't get to make decisions. They advise the Minister and the Government make decisions.

touts

This idea of. Oh I'm disadvantaged because I missed a few weeks at the end is utter rubbish. By March before the exam the whole course would be covered and they would be just revising. If they were still doing new stuff they we're screwed anyway.

And the absolute rubbish of "I m so stressed and worried about Covid I cant concentrate" is pure snowflake millennial pandering. Get over yourselfes. If you think you're too stressed now you'll be eaten alive in the working environment.

gp1990

This seems a crazy decision. I really feel for students and teachers alike. Probably the most controversial Covid-related individual decision in this country to date and I expect there'll be uproar

I think we can kiss goodbye to schools and many offices opening for a long, long time to come

Surely social distancing is well achievable for the leaving cert?

Goodness knows what the knock on effects of all this will be

The leaving cert has always been such a constant, this decision has such an unnerving feel to it.

bluefinger

History Queen wrote: »

We will have to mark based on merit not potential (surely? Although god knows). I'm horrendously worried for my class. They are a streamed class very weak at my subject and just under half failed the mocks. Of them two I feel may not have passed the real thing but I would have expected the rest to pass based on classwork and homework not on data I can prove. Particularly since many of them decided not tolog in again after Easter and I also have a school refuser on my classlist. How do I predict his grade?

This shows how difficult it is and teachers shouldn't be put in the position of having to mark their own classes. I don't envy you this. Hopefully the des gets their act together.

TheWarChicken

bluefinger wrote: »

This shows how difficult it is and teachers shouldn't be put in the position of having to mark their own classes. I don't envy you this. Hopefully the des gets their act together.

The one constant that we can rely on is that the des is clueless.

Jizique

CageWager wrote: »

I don’t get why the LC would need to be cancelled - the schools were closed in mid-March of 6th year, so only about 6 weeks of classes left. The full curriculum should have been comfortably covered by March of 6th year with the last c.2 months for revision.

Students have all the materials to do their final revision from home and in fact this whole situation has resulted in them having even more time than normal to study.

So why the call for no exam? If I spent 2 years of my life studying for an exam I’d want to get my reward in the end. Cancelling and predictive grades are such a cop out.

This will only result in court challenges from well off parents who are not happy with predictive grades and the allocation of college places next year.

What are the students going to do now? They will not be taking their online classes and up early to study.
Can’t believe the govt gave in on this - I predict Clongowes to do very well in school league tables

khalessi

TheWarChicken wrote: »

The one constant that we can rely on is that the des is clueless.

Thats not news to teachers. Hence the worry over the "plan" for school in September

thomas 123

bluefinger wrote: »

This shows how difficult it is and teachers shouldn't be put in the position of having to mark their own classes. I don't envy you this. Hopefully the des gets their act together.

And imagine this is a fair teacher. Imagine the GAA down with the lads teacher who has 5as 3bs and 4ds to give out? I wonder who gets the higher grades? Who oversees it? Who says; actually mr x that’s not right?

TheWarChicken

thomas 123 wrote: »

And imagine this is a fair teacher. Imagine the GAA down with the lads teacher who has 5as 3bs and 4ds to give out? I wonder who gets the higher grades? Who oversees it? Who says; actually mr x that’s not right?

The principals and such are going to be involved in the decision, be that for good or bad is yet to be seen.

fits

BrianBoru00 wrote: »

For all its faults it is as fair a system that exists where the doctors child and the dole scroungers child face the exact same set of questions.
ugh.

And who do you think will have the supportive parents, the good study space, the Wifi etc. Some students have had no access to any instruction or support since the beginning of March. They had no real choice.

stephenjmcd

What an absolute mess, an awful decision to use predictive grades, feel sorry for any student who's put in all the effort for the last few years for it to come down to this.

To add insult the Irish times are reporting "Students who are unhappy with their awarded grades will likely be given the option of sitting written exams at a much later date, possibly early next year".
So do those students who think they'd have done better in the exam can do it later in the year, how does that effect them going to college ? Are they basically going to be kept back a year.

It was mentioned on virgin media last night that if this happened and a student missed out on a college place due to predictive grades then it could be wide open to the start of high court cases against the state.

Theres no simple solution but theres just so much wrong with predictive grades

tayto lover

c montgomery wrote: »

I dont see why it can't go ahead

Loads of factories are open and working fine with social distancing

Open all classrooms in a school. 5 students per room with 1 teacher. Staggered arrival and leaving times

Unfortunately they eased the lockdown in Spain and the numbers seem to be rising again. You cannot stop young people from meeting up after an examination either. Curiosity will draw them to each other to see how they did in the exam.

Snowbiee21

No decision has been made though?
Just usual news outlets
Where’s the confirmation

JoeExotic81

Another glaring example of this government failing to manage. Full lockdown, full cancellation of exams. It's almost as if they haven't an ounce of creative thinking in government.

An absolute disgrace.

landofthetree

GazzaL wrote: »

You'd swear the Government make policies based on the ****e coming from the Twitter mob and de Facebook luvvies. These people are not reflective of society. Most normal people think they are complete eejits.

I'm pretty shocked by the decision. I'm not a stakeholder as they say.

But if I was a parent I would be pretty furious.

It's pure populist nonsense.

yerwanthere123

Seems mad to me and will create more problems in the long run. I got 90 more points in the LC exams than I did in the pre's. Even if all my teachers in school had liked me (which they didn't), there's no way I'd have gotten that 90 extra points, or anywhere near it.

CageWager

fits wrote: »

And who do you think will have the supportive parents, the good study space, the Wifi etc. Some students have had no access to any instruction or support since the beginning of March. They had no real choice.

The schools closed mid-March. Do you think it’s a good plan to throw away 22.5 months of a 24 month curriculum because the last 1.5 months have to be done from home?

This thing about students not being able to study on their own is a red herring - are you really willing to say that a group of 17-19 years olds are unable to study without mammy looking over their shoulder? Its not junior infants. They are adults (or very close to being adults). Time to grow up.

Ohmeha

Why are college exams able to be conducted online during this crisis but the leaving cert can't?

ACitizenErased

A disgrace to be honest. Joe McHugh is completely out of his depth.

thomas 123

TheWarChicken wrote: »

The principals and such are going to be involved in the decision, be that for good or bad is yet to be seen.

It’s personal bias though.

The leaving cert is not ideal in any way but it is a level playing field.

Instead of you deciding your future someone else is going to do that.

Imagine in the case of English, a teacher may prefer a certain students writing style and already be biased anytime they corrected their work, it’s human nature. A teacher may not like a student and go into correcting their work with a negative bias. This is now the work that will be used to decide the leaving cert.

From a purely analytical perspective it’s a flawed.