KENNY WELCOMES JUNIOR CERT REFORMS
Posted on October 4, 2012 3:12 PM | Permanent Link
Dublin Bay North Labour Party T.D., Sean Kenny, today welcomed the major changes to the Junior Certificate exams which Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, announced this afternoon.
"Such a move is long over-due and will put students at the centre of the three year junior cycle, rather than examinations. There is compelling evidence that the current junior cycle is failing our young people. We know that significant numbers of first years do not make progress in English and Maths - the key building blocks of learning.
"We know that too many students fail to keep engaging when they get to second year and in many cases never reconnect to learning. We also know that the experience of third year is dominated by preparations for the Junior Certificate exams where the focus narrows to how you perform in the exams, rather than the quality of the learning.
"All of this needs to change for the good of our students and the good of our teachers, and I am very pleased that this is now happening. From 2014, the old Junior Certificate examination will be replaced on a phased basis with a new school based approach to assessment.
"The majority of students will study 8 subjects with a maximum of 10 subjects to be studied for the Junior Cert. Students can substitute two short courses for one full subject, allowing options such as computer coding, Chinese, PE or others to be studied in short courses. I warmly welcome the new focus on modern skills in this regard, as it is time that our secondary education system moved to grasp what will most likely be basic aspects of the future of children doing the Junior Cert over the next decade.
"Generally 40% of the marks for each subject will be awarded for school based components, such as oral exams in language studies, or work completed during second and third years, which could be presented in e-portfolios or in other forms as decided by the school.
"At the end of the junior cycle, students will receive an achievement profile which will include a new school certificate. This profile will give parents and students much more information on their learning achievements, including the results from standardised testing in second year, grades awarded at the end of the third year exams and also information on areas such as attendance, teamwork and behaviour.
"It is important to note that this is not a cost-saving exercise. In fact significant resources are needed to implement the new junior cycle. But even in these very difficult financial times, this Government believes in investing in our children and all the necessary resources will be provided to make this a success."
