From Leaving CertiFiCate to Leaving SChooL a Longitudinal Study ...

Leaving Certificate Exam Performance 113
Figure 4.11: Leaving Certificate grade point average by Junior
Certificate performance (quintiles)
25
L
C
G
P
A
V
20
15
10
5
0
Lowest 2 Middle 4 Highest
JC Quintile
The type of class allocation used by the school at junior cycle was found
to be significantly predictive of Junior Certificate performance, with students
in the lowest stream class achieving lower exam grades, even controlling
for initial ability (Smyth et al., 2007). In Figure 4.12, we show
grade point average at Leaving Certificate level by the type of class students
were in during junior cycle. These results must be interpreted with
some caution as the vast majority of the lower stream classes either
dropped out of school or moved into the LCA track (Byrne and Smyth,
2010; Banks et al., 2010). However, clear differences are evident by initial
class type, with students in mixed ability classes achieving the highest
Leaving Certificate scores and very low grades among those who had
been in lower stream classes at junior cycle.
Looking at the transition from primary to post-primary education, no
significant relationship is found between the extent to which students
report missing primary school in first year and later Leaving Certificate
grades. However, curriculum discontinuity appears to be a factor; students
who reported that Maths in first year was ‘about the same’ as in
primary school achieve higher exam grades than those who find it easier
or harder (18.4 compared with 14.8 and 15.7 respectively). No such pattern
is found in relation to continuity in English or Irish. Students who