Towards a Better Future

Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System
courses, each equivalent to half a subject, in place of full subjects. Schools would also be provided with
an assessment and moderation toolkit, and would be assisted by both the State Examinations
Commission (SEC) and the NCCA in both the planning and assessment processes. In the initial years,
it was proposed that the final assessment of subjects at the end of the cycle would be set by the SEC
but administered and marked by the schools, while final assessments in the case of English, Mathematics
and Irish would be administered and marked by the SEC. The school-based component (comprising
a range of tasks including assignments, projects, performances, oral and aural skills, and practical tasks
as appropriate for each subject) would receive a weighting of 40% and the final assessments 60%. The
teachers in the school would mark the short courses.
The Framework represented a radical shift in policy by the DES, from dismissing all previous reviews
dating back to the ICE report of 1975, to proposing a reform that embraced both the curriculum
and assessment, and recognition of the limitations of terminal written examinations. The reform
proposals could be said to represent a reasonable response to addressing the well-articulated and
universally-agreed limitations of the existing system of assessment and at the same time a major
change to an assessment system that had largely remained unchanged for decades. It was almost
certain to be resisted. A move from a centrally-administered public examination system, in which
teachers traditionally have had little or no involvement, to one in which they would play a major
role in the assessment of the work of their own students for certification purposes, was more than
likely to face stern opposition. Perhaps, it was a step too far, too soon, for a system that was
unprepared for such a major overhaul of the assessment system. It could be argued, on the other hand,
that the approach presented in the Framework at least alerted those concerned to the serious intent
of the Department in implementing a long-overdue reform of the system and in this sense captured
their engagement with the proposals. Perhaps, a more nuanced approach in which a phased
introduction of the proposals leading to the end stage outlined by the DES might have had a better
chance of acceptance. In effect, this is what emerged.
Following long and protracted discussions between the Department and the teacher unions, a way
forward was agreed. Minister Jan O’Sullivan outlined “five immutable principles which must
underpin any reform of the Junior Cycle.” These included:
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The need to recognise a broad range of learning
A requirement to considerably reduce the focus on one terminal examination as a means of
assessing our students
The necessity of giving prominence and importance to classroom-based assessment
Greater professional collaboration between teachers to be a feature of our schools
Both parents/guardians and students to get a broader picture of students’ learning throughout
the whole of Junior Cycle.
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