Leaving Certificate Arrangements 2021
Every student will be offered and will be entitled to avail of either or both of the following
(a) Sitting and receiving grades in the established Leaving Certificate examinations including, where applicable, her/his performance in the completion of additional assessment components (coursework, orals, etc.) associated with particular subjects. The additional assessment component/s will be externally marked by the SEC
(b) receiving a State Examinations Commission Accredited Grade (to be called an SEC- Accredited Grade) in each subject, based on the school’s estimate of the student’s likely performance in the conventional examinations (had COVID-19 not interrupted teaching and learning in schools) involving and subject to a national standardisation process. In a subject with additional assessment components two estimates will be provided – one reflecting the proportion of the overall mark assigned to the written examination and the other reflecting the proportion of the overall mark assigned to the additional assessment component. In the process of arriving at the SEC-Accredited Grade these two estimates will be combined.
The Leaving Certificate Written Examinations
a) The written examinations will:
• Operate in accordance with the normal timetable that has been published on the SEC website and will commence on 9th June - Leaving Certificate Established Timetable: https://www.examinations.ie/misc-doc/EN-EX-46337197.pdf
• Be conducted, subject to public health advice and will provide, as far as possible, access to the examinations for very high-risk students, and
b) Additional assessment components – marked by the SEC – Leaving Certificate
For those students who wish to avail of the established Leaving Certificate (i.e. sit the written examination in a subject), additional assessment components such as orals, practical 2 performance tests and coursework will run, subject to public health advice. Because of public health advice, schools are being asked to source teachers locally to administer some of the tests. Some additional assessment components in certain subjects will not run for public health reasons - the day Practical Examinations are a case in point.
SEC-Accredited Grades system
An Accredited Grades system, to be operated by the State Examinations Commission, will be available whereby Leaving Certificate students can opt to have grades in some or all of their subjects issued to them at the same time as the Leaving Certificate grades/examination results.
In determining the SEC-Accredited Grades:
• The professional judgement of a student’s teacher/s will not be subject to appeal
• A form of in-school alignment to ensure fairness amongst students at school level will take place
• A process of standardisation at national level to ensure as much fairness as possible amongst this year’s students will be applied
• The SEC-Accredited Grade and Leaving Certificate Examinations outcomes will have regard to the pattern of results in 2020, and previously, with more details of the process to be determined having regard to advice from the SEC
• Provision will be made, insofar as practicable, for out-of-school learners and students studying one or more subjects outside school to apply to receive SEC-Accredited Grades through the devising of an appropriate and practicable process
Results that a student will receive
If a student opts to sit the Leaving Certificate examinations (inclusive of SEC marked additional assessment components) and not to receive any SEC-Accredited Grades, then s/he will receive Leaving Certificate results/grades in the usual manner.
If a student opts only to receive SEC-Accredited Grades and not to sit any Leaving Certificate examinations (inclusive of SEC marked additional assessment components), then s/he will receive SEC-Accredited Grades.
If a student opts to sit the Leaving Certificate examination (inclusive of SEC marked additional assessment components) in one or more subjects and also to receive SEC-Accredited Grades in one or more subjects, then s/he will receive the best combination of the Leaving Certificate grades and SEC-Accredited Grades achieved.
The results from both processes will issue at the same time in August and no reference will be made to the particular process that produced the grade in a subject. A few days later, the students will be given access to the breakdown: for Examination, the written paper, the oral, and the practical, project (as appropriate to each subject); and for the SEC-Accredited Grade, the school’s estimated mark, the calculated mark, and the calculated grade. This information will be made available to the student for a limited period on an electronic portal. Students will be allowed to appeal their result: for Examination Grades in the normal way; for transmission and processing of student data. In the student’s Leaving Certificate, there will be no distinction drawn between a grade that derives from the Leaving Certificate Examinations process and a grade that derives from the SEC-Accredited Grades process.
Legislation
Necessary legislation will be brought forward to confer on the State Examinations Commission power to operate a system of SEC-Accredited Grades and to protect the process and teachers against abuse including canvassing.
Timeline for Schools’ Estimations – towards SEC-Accredited Grades
The closing date for the receipt of student work that can be taken into account for the purposes of the SEC-Accredited Grade process will be 14th May, 2021. More detail will follow on what data may/may not be used.
Schools will close to all students from 28th May, 2021 to allow for the conclusion of the work (including alignment) necessary at school level within the process.
