The Points Race

**katie**

Is anyone else completely fed up with the points race?Think it's time for a change. Continuous Assessments would ease the pressure so much, i think they're the way to go. Any views?

honru

Does it really matter at this stage? Just do the Leaving Cert and get it over with.

**katie**

I know it doesn't matter for me, but the whole system is completely unfair and I'm talking about changing it for future students.

angeldelight

I'm not sure about it being unfair. Teachers aren't happy with the idea of continuous assessment cause if they have to correct them it's open to bias. Points race is difficult but at the same time works for thousands of people and has.

**katie**

angeldelight wrote:

I'm not sure about it being unfair. Teachers aren't happy with the idea of continuous assessment cause if they have to correct them it's open to bias.

Yeah I've heard that arguement too, but what if we had an exam at the end of fifth year and one at the end of sixth year?They could still be sent away to be corrected, so no bias.
When I said unfair, i meant that there are only a certain amount of As available. Quality papers are sent back for re-correction to bring the grade down, just because there are enough As! That is hardly fair. Don't get me wrong, I see how it makes sense, because As would mean nothing if they weren't scarce...but knowing my luck, I'll be the one who gets downgraded!

Zhane

wouldnt it be better if the christmas and summer tests be sent in as assesments? so that 4 exams over 2 years, so each exam is 25% it would take the pressure off these exams in June

CoffeeFreak

Continuous assesment would probably be easier, because you wouldn't have to know all the information for one exam...so people would do better in general so they'd have to mark them even harder so there's not too many A's. I don't think it would be any better to have continuous assesment..

angeldelight

I dunno, I reckon if you had an exam at hte end of 5th year and then 6th year ppl would just forget bout all the 5th year stuff. I found my LC subject choice v helpful in college so if I'd only remembered half it by time I started I'd have been even more swamped than I already was

Gone West

In the USA; homework, every little test and the SAT's all count for your final "grade/score". So its a lot fairer when universities are picking students for enrollment. The smart kids who do all their homework and do well in most tests will definetly get into college. And they know (pretty much) their grades near the end of 12th grade (like 6th year). So theres no worrying about "will I have enough points", etc. They know if they will have enough points every time they get a grade-card(every 9 weeks).

I think this system makes much more sense than our leaving cert, which is out-dated and ineffective.

mickomack

**katie** wrote:

Is anyone else completely fed up with the points race?Think it's time for a change. Continuous Assessments would ease the pressure so much, i think they're the way to go. Any views?

Continous assessment may put constant pressure on the students to perform and would have to work continously throughout the 2 years

**katie**

FuzzyLogic wrote:

I think this system makes much more sense than our leaving cert, which is out-dated and ineffective.

Yeah i agree, it is well past time for a change!

randomfella

yea i'd be all for continuous assessment and a system where u could choose just 3 or 4 subjects to study. I hate the leaving cert and think its completly outdated. It suits people with self discipline who can sit down and force themselves to study for hours throughout their school years, and with many exams its a test of memory not your application. I don't agree with the CAO system either. It gives college places to people who achieved best in their leaving cert not to people who would be best for that course. Thats one of the reasons why there is such a high drop out rate accross third level. Agree??

Cool_CM

Cao and leaving cert should be overhauled as they are out of date.
Courses should not be "dummed down" to give the impression that the teenage population is getting more intelligent, when clearly it's not!
At this stage we have to deal with the system, it's not going to change in 2 months, i'm just annoyed that this june, we'll have to write big long content filled essays to do well in history whilst next year all they'll have to do is decide whether hitler was in fact
A) A Dictator
Irish Rugby Captain 2004
C) Next In Line To British Throne*
to get their marks. Damn them!

*Question may be a tad exaggerated

Errant11235

randomfella wrote:

and with many exams its a test of memory not your application.

Can you pass a maths exam by memory alone? Writing an essay is not something done by memory either. In every type of exam you are required to applie what you have learned not just memorized. If people don't have the motivation to work in 6th year with the system we have, whats going to be different with continuous assessment? You have to work all through 5th and 6th year! and students simply wont! I'm not in favour of the system but its the best we have.

**katie**

Cool_CM wrote:

i'm just annoyed that this june, we'll have to write big long content filled essays to do well in history whilst next year all they'll have to do is decide whether hitler was in fact
A) A Dictator
Irish Rugby Captain 2004
C) Next In Line To British Throne*
to get their marks. Damn them!

LOL that is very true, just our luck to miss the course change by one year after about 50 years of the same course!A lot of courses are changing next year though which will make it v difficult to repeat....not that we'll need to or anything...

randomfella

i think the keyword in the sentence u quoted there is "many". I can only speak from the subjects i do but:

History - almost complete memory ESPECIALLY special topic

Geography - Physical - memory, regional - memory, fieldwork - memory. rest is application

Maths - remembering formulae

English - some essays people have word for heart learned off, poetry - memory, comparitive - mostly memory.

Irish - mostly application of memory, stair - memory.

Business - Complete memory, prime example of where "if its not in the exam marking scheme it doesnt count"

German - no memory involved just remembering vocabulary.

*Angel*

I don't necessarily agree with continuous assessment but I definitely don't agree with the current points system. I think that the Leaving Cert would work better if more emphasis for the points was put on subjects necessary for a particular course, for instance in a student was going to study maths or engineering then Maths would be worth more points than say English.

leggo

yea i'd be all for continuous assessment and a system where u could choose just 3 or 4 subjects to study.

I'm kinda swaying towards this idea. I can swing both ways on the continuous assessment question, but I feel a FAR more effective way to learn would be through lightening the load, so to speak, in the Leaving Cert.

What I mean is that you do your Junior Cert and throughout your Junior Cert are given a Career Guidance class informing you of your options as early as possible. Then for your Leaving Cert you can choose four subjects to study and build your timetable around. There are NO compulsary subjects, however if you need say, Honours Maths for an Engineering course, obviously you should have to do it, hence the Careers classes where you're informed of all of this before making your decision.

So you pick your four subjects, and the courses of each is designed to give you a great, wholesome look at the subject. These aren't the current 'Made for Points' courses we've to sit through now. Similarly to Universities, you go to your classes and then to fill out the rest of the timetable attend tutorials where you and your classmates discuss what you've learned, develop ideas based on said info and get a more encompassing feel for the course ahead of your exams.

Alternatively, if you wish to spend this tutorial time taking an extra subject (and be graded out of your best four), then that's fine.

Oh, and in this dream world, you could get into your courses by passing exams. No points as such, it'd be a WHOLE lot easier if you put the work in. The point is, you'll actually give a **** about the courses you're studying, so you will put the work in.

But that's a long story. You get the basic idea for now. Oh if only I had the time, energy and self-respect to burn to be Minister for Education...

randomfella

leggo wrote:

Alternatively, if you wish to spend this tutorial time taking an extra subject (and be graded out of your best four), then that's fine.

wow u really have this all planned out.

Yea i agree with everything u said there, a more college orientated enviornment where you can excel at the subjects you like instead of putting effort into ****ty subjects that drag you down.

Lantis

*Angel* wrote:

I don't necessarily agree with continuous assessment but I definitely don't agree with the current points system. I think that the Leaving Cert would work better if more emphasis for the points was put on subjects necessary for a particular course, for instance in a student was going to study maths or engineering then Maths would be worth more points than say English.

I disagree completely.

I've said this before, but at the time when people choose their subjects, they don't know what they want to do with their lives. It's already pressure to have to decide in 6th year with the CAO, it's just unfair and ridiculous to expect people to know where they're going in 4th year.
I'm talking from personal experience here, since I went from wanting to do a computer course to doing a languages one halfway through 6th year, two completely different types of courses. If I was going by your system, I'd be absolutely screwed at that point.
I like the way it is, that courses have subject requirements.

*Angel*

Lantis wrote:

I disagree completely.

I've said this before, but at the time when people choose their subjects, they don't know what they want to do with their lives. It's already pressure to have to decide in 6th year with the CAO, it's just unfair and ridiculous to expect people to know where they're going in 4th year.
I'm talking from personal experience here, since I went from wanting to do a computer course to doing a languages one halfway through 6th year, two completely different types of courses. If I was going by your system, I'd be absolutely screwed at that point.
I like the way it is, that courses have subject requirements.

Yeah actually my system would suck in such a case, I was ignorant of those undecided students, forget I ever said it..... I'm just pissed off that I'm really good at the subjects like maths, app maths, tech dr, and physics which I need for engineering but I'm bad at English, French, Irish.