State Examinations Commission (SEC) Accredited Grades

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

State Examinations Commission (SEC) Accredited Grades

Teachers and students have adapted to alternative approaches to teaching and learning, through emergency remote teaching and learning. However, despite additional resourcing to schools, disparities remain in accessing technology, connectivity and digital skills, which may have impacted on learning. Therefore, all Leaving Certificate 2021 school students will be able to opt in to receive a set of SEC Accredited Grades. The grades will be arrived at through a process by which the teacher will use a range of available evidence to support her/his judgement-making in estimating the percentage marks to award to students, following which these estimated marks will be subjected to an in-school alignment process and later a national standardisation process.

SEC Accredited Grades will be provided:

• In addition to examinations: As far as possible, students will be provided with SEC Accredited Grades for all subjects for which they are entered in the Leaving Certificate examinations in 2021, provided that adequate evidence is available on which to base an SEC Accredited Grade.
• To students who are unable to sit the examinations at the scheduled time: For example, some students may be at very high-risk from COVID-19; some students may be required to self-isolate and/or restrict their movements for all or part of the period of the examinations; or they may have a bereavement or other medically certified illness which prevents them from sitting the examinations. Having the SEC Accredited Grade will enable the student to receive a grade in such cases. There will be no opportunity to sit the 2021 examinations at a later date.
• When it is not possible to take the examinations: It may not be possible to run the examinations in one or more examination centres because of COVID-19 related restrictions. In such cases, students will instead rely on an SEC Accredited Grade.

Students will be required to register on the SEC’s Candidate Portal; confirm their subject and level entry details; opt for the examinations and/or to receive SEC Accredited Grades. The SEC’s Candidate Portal is expected to open in the week of 8 March 2021 to allow students to make their choices. Students will have approximately one week in which to do this. Details of the students’ choices will be provided to each school.

The portal will re-open in late April/early May to enable candidates to review their choices. The final confirmed candidate details will be provided to schools in advance of the in-school process.

An SEC Accredited Grade is a grade that can be provided to a student in respect of a subject following the combination by the SEC of a school estimated percentage mark for a student’s expected performance in an examination and national data available in relation to the performance of students in examinations over a period of time. Accredited Grades therefore take cognisance of performance in all aspects of an examination including, where relevant, oral, practical and coursework components and tasks.

An SEC Accredited Grade results from combining data as follows:

• A school estimation of a percentage mark to be awarded to a student in respect of her/his expected performance in an examination in that particular subject.
• Data available from the state examinations – this includes, but is not necessarily limited to, national data on past Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate/Cycle examination performance (pre-2020) of students in each subject.

The combination of these data sets through a process of national standardisation will determine the grade to be awarded to each student in each subject, thereby resulting in an SEC Accredited Grade being awarded.

The Minister is committed to bringing forward legislative amendments (to the Education Act, 1998) that will allow the SEC to administer the Accredited Grades Scheme for Leaving Certificate 2021. However, until those legislative amendments are in place the planning for and early stages of implementation of the system of Accredited Grades will be managed by the Minister’s Department.

The system of SEC Accredited Grades that is being offered is based on the following key principles:

• Teacher professionalism: Teachers know their students and can balance a variety of factors in arriving at a professional judgement in relation to their students’ expected performance. Their Professional Code of Conduct underpinned by the values of Integrity, Trust, Care and Respect informs how they work in schools to ensure the best outcomes for their students.
• Support for students: The offer of SEC Accredited Grades ensures that a clear alternative route to students progressing to further and higher education, or the world of work, is in place, and brings certainty to the overall process. It thus takes account of the need to support student wellbeing and satisfies the requirement for valid certification.
• Objectivity: Teachers and schools will be objective in their assessment of the student’s expected performance and will take into consideration a range of evidence to support the judgements that are made. Schools and teachers will work collaboratively to ensure that no bias, conscious or unconscious, influences the decisions made in relation to a student’s expected performance.
• Fairness and equity: Schools and teachers will strive to achieve fairness and equity in the way in which they apply the process at school level.
• Collaboration: A collaborative approach will be used in schools to ensure that each stage of the process is completed.
• Timeliness: Schools and teachers will ensure that the deadlines set for the completion of the in-school processes are met and that each stage is completed within the designated timeframe.

In recognising the need for all current Leaving Certificate students to progress to further or higher education, apprenticeship or the world of work, students will be provided with Accredited Grades where it is possible to do so. The SEC Accredited Grades will be generated using the estimated percentage marks provided by schools (following provisional estimation by subject teacher(s) that will be subject to a process of in-school alignment and oversight by the principal) and national standardisation.

The key features of the system of SEC Accredited Grades include:

• Recognition of student achievement: The system recognises student achievement across the two years of the Senior Cycle, and the student’s expected performance in the examination, including written examinations and where relevant, tasks, oral, practical and/or coursework components. Learning during the school closure period of January-February-March 2021 should be taken into account, and (with caveats) learning during the period of school closure in 2020. Learning and outcomes from March until 14 May will also be taken in to account.
• Reflection of learning: The SEC Accredited Grade system recognises that students learn in different ways and they develop a range of knowledge, skills and competences in subjects through the course of their study. It also reflects that school closures have affected students’ engagement in different ways; many have adapted well to learning on-line, while others have found it harder to engage or fully access on-line learning.
• Continuity in learning: The arrangements for the SEC Accredited Grades seek to ensure that student engagement with their schools is encouraged for the remaining period of the 2020/21 school year. It is hoped that with the support of their teachers, students will be able to progress in their learning and work towards completing their course of study. This will assist in preparing students for progression to further and higher education, apprenticeship and the world of work.
• Safeguards for teachers’ professional judgement: Re-engaging with their teachers and peers in a face-to-face environment provides an opportunity to support student wellbeing and to discuss future education and career options. However, overtures or approaches by parents/guardians, students and others to, and/or discussions with teachers and/or school management in relation to school estimated marks submitted, as part of the Accredited Grades process are prohibited*.
• Consistency of approach: Schools and subject teachers will be supported in taking a consistent approach through the provision of additional detailed guidance in relation to the SEC Accredited Grades system.
• Additional guidance is provided in Detailed Guidance

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