State Examinations 2021

A Guide to State Examinations and Accredited Grades for Leaving Certificate 2021

All students may opt to take Leaving Certificate examinations, (including written examinations and related additional components in each subject as appropriate) in 2021. The State Examinations Commission will put in place the necessary arrangements to provide these examinations, subject to prevailing health advice. Students who wish to take the examinations will be able to participate in orals and coursework while those who do not will have the option of the SEC Accredited Grade.

In response to the disrupted learning experienced by students during the periods of school closures in 2020 and 2021 adjustments have already been made to the assessment arrangements for post-primary students taking State certificate examinations in the 2020/21 school year. Details of those adjustments were communicated to schools, teachers and students in the Assessment Arrangements for Junior and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021 available here. These adjustments will be reflected in the written examinations.

The changes made can be viewed as reflecting and recognising disruption of normal teaching and learning patterns and some associated loss of learning time, while acknowledging that teachers have made very significant efforts to provide for continuity in learning through remote teaching.

In addition to the adjustment to the examinations previously communicated to schools, further adjustments will be made to the written papers. These further adjustments will aim to reduce the load on students, leaving intact the general overall structure of the written examination papers. In the majority of cases these adjustments will involve reducing the number of questions that students will be required to answer. The duration of the examinations will remain the same as set out in the published timetable, thus providing students with additional time to read the paper and answer the required number of questions.

Further subject-by-subject guidance in relation to these adjustments will be issued by the SEC in the week of 22 March.

The time available to complete each written examination will remain the same as is set out the published timetable.

Written examinations are scheduled to commence on 9 June 2021.The timetable for these examinations is available here.

The majority of subjects are examined through a combination of additional components and a written examination. The additional components are used to ensure that students have opportunities to demonstrate their learning across a range of practical and applied knowledge and skills.

The examinations will be marked and graded on the basis of all components that are run.

Details of altered arrangements for subjects with additional components (including adjusted dates for the submission of coursework and the completion of other components) will be published separately, but the general approach adopted will be as follows:

Coursework

Coursework will be completed by students and submitted to the SEC for marking or to be marked by the SEC examiners in schools. Flexibility in the arrangements for the completion and submission of coursework was notified to schools in January 2021. Details of the new submission dates, which take account of the continued school closures in January and February 2021, will be available shortly. In making these adjustments due consideration has been given to the need to protect students’ tuition time for the remainder of the school year and ensuring that public health requirements are adhered to.

Practical examinations

Due to COVID-related restrictions it will not be possible to hold practical skills tests (day practicals) in Construction Studies or Engineering nor will it be possible for the Performance Assessment in Physical Education to proceed. In these subjects the proportion of marks normally allocated to these components will be reallocated to the project component. The proportion of the marks for the written examination will remain unchanged.

In the case of Music, planning is being advanced for revised arrangements in respect of the conduct of the practical performance component of the examination which it is hoped can take place in the Easter period. Engagement is ongoing with public health experts and further details on this will be provided as soon as possible.

Oral examinations

Oral examinations in Irish and modern foreign languages will take place in schools during the period from 26 March 2021 to 15 April 2021. Schools will hold the examinations at times outside of normal tuition time so that students’ normal tuition is not interrupted to take the examination. For example, examinations may be scheduled in periods before or after the normal school day, during the Easter vacation, or at weekends. The scheduling of the examinations, within the period 26 March to 15 April, will be a matter for the management of the school, following consultation with the relevant teaching staff, but schools should seek to limit the period for the running of each language examination as far as practicable to a period of five consecutive days.

Oral examinations will be conducted under examination conditions by a teacher or teachers, qualified in the relevant subject/s, appointed by the management of the school. The teacher may be a suitably qualified member of staff of the school, a neighbouring school, or another suitably qualified teacher engaged by the school. Teachers carrying out this task will be remunerated by the SEC under arrangements similar to those which apply to the local appointment of examinations personnel. Normal rules with respect to the vetting of teachers will apply.

Teachers conducting the examinations will be provided with guidance by the SEC. The oral examination will be recorded electronically and the recording will be sent to the SEC for marking.

Schools will have the authority to appoint an examination aide to assist in administering the oral examinations. The examination aide will be remunerated by the SEC under its scheme of examinations aide provision to support the delivery of examinations in schools.

LCA written examinations are scheduled to commence on 9 June 2021.

In advance of the start of the current school year the Department published advice for management and teachers of Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) 2020/21 in Second-Level Schools and Centres for Education.

The advice note set out the curriculum and assessment arrangements for the LCA Year 1 and Year 2 students for the current academic year 2020/21. The revised arrangements also take account of the varying levels of student engagement in learning during the 2019/20 school year and acknowledge the modular nature of the LCA.

Adjustments were made to the assessment arrangements for students taking LCA certificate examinations. Details of those adjustments were communicated to schools, teachers and students in the Assessment Arrangements for Junior and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021.

Separate guidance will be provided on the detailed arrangements for LCA examinations.

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