Towards a Better Future

Chapter Five: Transition from Second Level to Higher Education
Selection is based on three scales: (a) Leaving Certificate results; (b) Relative Performance Rank
(i.e. the performance of the applicant relative to other applicants from his/her school; (c) Personal
and contextual data, gleaned from a personal statement submitted by applicants. According to the
architect of the study, Professor Patrick Geoghegan, all three criteria were weighted equally for the
first two years (Geoghegan, 2014). In 2015 and in the coming year, the weighting has been refined,
with less weighting currently being allocated for personal and contextual data. A rigorous analysis
of the data collected so far is currently being carried out by a research group in the School of
Education in Trinity College and the findings of the analysis are eagerly awaited (Geoghegan, 2016).
In the meantime, as indicated in the report on ‘Supporting a Better Transition from Second to Higher
Education’, launched by Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan in April 2015, a number of changes
have been agreed by the higher education institutions to date. A new grading structure for the
Leaving Certificate; a revised common points scale for entry to higher education; broader
undergraduate entry; and addressing issues relating to predictability in the Leaving Certificate. The
first three of these changes will come into effect in autumn 2017 and, hopefully, issues relating to
predictability in the Leaving Certificate will be addressed without delay by the SEC.
Before concluding, it is worth noting that Ireland is not unique in questioning, reviewing and
reforming its higher education admissions system. Their current systems have been reviewed and
sometimes revised in a number of eastern European countries, Australia, some universities in the UK
and in the US. In 2011, the Group of Eight (a coalition of leading Australian universities)
commissioned a report that examined criteria and strategies in student selection and their
implications for equality of opportunity in higher education. (Palmer et al, 2011). That report offered
an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of criteria for prior academic achievement, tests of
aptitude and preparedness and broader criteria used in university selection. The aim of the report
was to support informed discussion regarding the development and improvement of university
selection criteria and practices, recognising the common challenges universities face in fostering
diversity of participation and student success in an expanding tertiary education environment.
A recent report produced by a consortium of universities in the US, co-ordinated by the Admissions
Office in Harvard University, made the point that ‘today’s culture sends young people messages that
emphasise personal success rather than concern for others and the common good’ (HGSE, 2015).
The report expressed concern that ‘too often the college admissions process … contributes to this
problem’. It went on to state:
As a rite of passage for many students and a major focus for many parents, the
college admissions process is powerfully positioned to send different messages that
help young people become more generous and humane in ways that benefit not only
society but students themselves.
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