Leaving Cert: maths paper 2 (9.30-12 midday), Irish paper one (2-4.20pm)

Junior Cycle: science (9.30-11.30am), business studies (1.30-3.30pm)

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Too easy? See for yourself ...

Many Junior Cycle exam subjects are sat at common level, so there’s no higher or ordinary level. The idea is to provide a more equitable and accessible learning experience for all students. But is it too easy for some students?

Liam Hennelly, a science teacher at Belvedere College SJ in Dublin and Studyclix subject expert, said the lack of challenge for more able students in this morning’s Junior Cycle science paper continues to be an issue.

• Question 12 from today’s Junior Cycle science exam at common level
• Junior Cycle science (common level) [full paper]

‘Students seeking H1s or H2s will have found the higher level maths paper particularly challenging’

My colleague Peter McGuire has spoken to a number of Leaving Cert maths teachers. Many feel maths paper two at higher level was even more challenging than paper one. There was relief among students sitting the ordinary level paper, meanwhile, which has been well received.

Leaving Cert maths paper 2 - higher level: ‘Challenges grew as the paper progressed’

Students who were anxious about their performance on Friday and hoping to find an easier paper today will have found no comfort, according to Aidan Roantree, maths teacher at the Institute of Education. While familiar topics helped students earn marks early on, the challenges grew as the paper progressed, he said.

“It continued the same mixture of the familiar and the quirky but on a larger scale with more of both. The question setter is consciously creating papers that are unlike previous years by adding novel questions that would have been hard to prepare for,” Mr Roantree said. Students looking for H2/H1s will find the paper particularly challenging as the difficulty built upwards towards the end of the paper, he said.

“Upon opening the paper, students will have felt an initial confidence boost to get them going,” he said. “Section A’s Q1, Q2, Q3 offered a reassuring and familiar start to the paper. This will have allowed students to accrue marks before venturing into the trickier sections.”

At Q4, the “quirkier” aspects of the paper emerged with questions that were evocative of pre-2015 statistics: interquartile ranges, averages, and later stratified sampling in Q10, Mr Roantree said. “Section B followed a similar pattern with approachable opening questions followed by mounting difficulty. In particular Q9’s part C was a very challenging probability question which would have tested the abilities of even the highest achievers.”

He said the paper contained some of the hardest questions on either paper, so students will leave the exam with a sense of having really pushed themselves. “This paper was a challenge for everyone, which will have to be reflected in the marking,” he said. “There were lots of places where students handled familiar material, but the inclusion of the novel elements will make it much more difficult to get those final few marks.”

Maths paper 2 - ordinary level: ‘Students will have been relieved’

We’ll have reaction to the higher level maths paper two shortly. In the meantime, Jean Kelly, maths teacher at The Institute of Education, says the ordinary level paper was a more positive experience for students than maths paper one last Friday.

“The paper was snappy, cutting right to the point and unified in the topics examined,” she said. Question 1 was focused on statistics, Q2 on trigonometry, Q3 on the circle etc. “This helped students stay focused on the task and feel like they are being helpfully scaffolded as the questions got harder,” she said.

“This feeling of momentum will help them get through the paper and feel much more assured in their performance.” In general, Ms Kelly said the paper was heavy on statistics, probability and trigonometry with area and volume having a lesser presence than previous years – likely due to a surprising appearance on paper one.

“While there were enough challenging pieces on the paper to distinguish those striving for the O1, even those who struggle to pass will find themselves in a good position,” she said. “The paper was often helpful, either through tips or by combining topics into a useful grouping.”

For example, she said the appearance of constructions in Section B was new, but the helpful pairing of dilations and area and volume helped ease students through the material. “While paper one needed students to constantly, even anxiously reread the questions, there was a nice snappiness to this paper. Students who had the fundamentals were able to quickly get their marks without fuss and frustration,” she said.

Junior Cycle grading - how it will change

You might be aware that the grading system for Junior Cycle students is going to change this year. It follows criticism from pupils and teachers that the existing scoring system was too harsh. The changes will see more of the 73,000 students sitting the exams get higher grades such as distinctions and higher merits.

Under the changes, there will be the same number of grade bands as before, but the top four grades (distinction, higher merit, merit and achieved) will be evenly distributed in bands of 15 percentage points.

• Distinction ≥ 90 to 100 ≥ 85 to 100
• Higher Merit ≥ 75 and < 90 ≥ 70 and < 85
• Merit ≥ 55 and < 75 ≥ 55 and < 70
• Achieved ≥ 40 and < 55 ≥ 40 and < 55
• Partially Achieved ≥ 20 and < 40 ≥ 20 and < 40
• Not Graded ≥ 0 and < 20 ≥ 0 and < 20

‘There was very genuine fear I could fail the maths exam’

We’ve been asking public figures, entertainers, politicians and broadcasters for their Leaving Cert memories. Newstalk’s Andrea Gilligan is the latest to reflect on her exam experiences. Like many, her career plans when she sat the exams look nothing like where she ended up – and she’ll all the happier for that.

Junior Cycle science: ‘Balanced, accessible, well-received’

The early reaction to the Junior Cycle science paper is broadly positive. Liam Hennelly, a science teacher at Belvedere College SJ in Dublin and Studyclix subject expert said it was an “accessible and reasonably fair paper that would have been well received. There was a good balance of questions across the five strands.”

It was a common paper – no higher or ordinary level – and Mr Hennelly said the lack of choice in the paper and the lack of challenge for more able students continues to be an issue. “The decision to change the grade bands from this year should see more students achieve the top Distinction grade (>85%+),” he said.

Mr Hennelly said the content of the questions in Section A was very fair and accessible. “It would have allowed students to settle into the paper and to pick up a lot of marks. Four of 10 questions were chemistry questions. There were three questions on biology and two questions on physics with one question on Earth and space in this section,” he said.

Section B of the paper was more challenging, he said. “In a change from previous years, Section B contained just four questions, Q11 was worth 30 marks and Q12-14 were worth 60 marks each. A recurring theme was that topics from the different strands of the specifications were interwoven into the questions,” he said.

Question 11 was on electricity and the question was about circuits and mainly focused on resistance provided by a thermistor. Question 12, he said, was an accessible question on rates of reaction from the chemical world strand with a really nice question on how reduced surface area of villi in the small intestine can lead to malnourishment.

“Question 13 was on the Earth & space and physics strands. Students had to be able to interpret data from a table provided, work out whether a diagram was showing a solar or lunar eclipse and discuss a technological application of physics in terms of scientific, societal and environmental impact.

“Question 14 was on mainly on photosynthesis and respiration from the biological world strand. In part (f), it asked a question on the day-night cycle on Earth and got students to think about how this would impact rates of photosynthesis and respiration.

And you thought the Leaving Cert was pressurised?

More than 13 million students in China are sitting the four-day gaokao exams, which began on Saturday and determine if and where students can secure a limited place at university. The test is considered the most significant in the country, especially for those from lower-income families that lack resources. A poor performance may require another year in high school or completely change a teenager’s future.

Students – and their parents – pull out the stops for any edge they can get, including extensive private tuition. My colleague Denis Staunton reported recently on how some parents seek out grinds from as early as preschool in order give their children the best chance of success.

Late last month, Chinese authorities also announced stricter entry checks at exam points, biometric identification, enhanced screening for digital devices, and radio signal blockers, state media reported, according to the Guardian. Reflecting how seriously Chinese society views the gaokao, it says some cities have postponed disruptive events such as public performances, delayed office starting hours and created dedicated priority traffic lanes to ensure students arrive to the test on time.

At least we’re not quite at the stage with the Leaving ... yet

Source: The Irish Times