Ensuring objectivity and fairness

Ensuring objectivity and fairness

Processing of school’s estimated marks

At the core of both the school-based and national standardisation phases of the system of Accredited Grades is a commitment to objectivity and fairness. To ensure this, the school-based process must not be compromised.

Therefore, the principal, deputy principal(s), teachers or other members of the school staff must not under any circumstances discuss with any student or with the parents or guardians of any student the estimated marks that the school is submitting. There are two reasons for this:

• the estimated percentage mark assigned by the school is not necessarily the final mark that the student will receive and it would therefore be misleading for the student to receive that mark before the SEC Accredited Grade processes are complete
• allowing access to and discussion of estimated grades before the Accredited Grades process is complete would interfere with the process being carried out objectively and fairly. If teachers discussed the marks with some students but not others, of if some teachers did this and others did not, these discussions might actually influence (consciously or unconsciously) or be represented or construed as influencing the mark the teacher submits to the subject alignment group.

Where a person seeks to improperly influence the estimation process, this may lead to withholding of results or more serious consequences. This aspect is being considered further and detailed information on consequences of such behaviour will be published as soon as possible.

Appeals

It will be open to a candidate to appeal his/her result in the Leaving Certificate Examination and/or their SEC Accredited Grade.

Certificate Examinations

Candidates appealing the result of an examination will follow the SEC appeals process. This will include an opportunity to view the scripts marked by SEC examiners.

SEC Accredited Grades

In the case of candidates appealing an SEC Accredited Grade, the appeals process for the appeal of an SEC Accredited Grade is a process review. The review is focused on looking for errors in the transmission and receipt of student data.

The SEC Accredited Grade appeals process includes three stages as follows:

Stage 1: Checks will be undertaken on the forms completed by the school to check that the information was transferred correctly from the forms to the data collection system

Stage 2: A review will be carried out to ensure that the data was correctly received and transmitted through the systems used in the national standardisation process conducted by the SEC

Stages 1 and 2 will be taken together.

Stage 3: Students unhappy with the outcome of the above process may invoke a separate process to have their appeal reviewed by independent Appeals Scrutineers. These Scrutineers are independent of the SEC.

The Independent Appeals Scrutineers will check to ensure the correct procedures were followed throughout the appeals process. The Scrutineers will have access to the records and documentation considered at Stages 1 and 2.

Students who having exhausted the appeals process as outlined consider that their case has not been processed correctly can make a complaint to the Ombudsman or, in the case of students under 18 years of age, the Ombudsman for Children.

Read the complete text version of A Guide to State Examinations and Accredited Grades for Leaving Certificate 2021 or download a pdf copy below: