Siuán Ní Mhaonaigh: Leaving Cert Irish exams need reform

June 10, 2015

During the tribulations of examination season there are many headlines on themes such as “Students happy with as-expected Leaving Cert Mathematics paper” or “Teachers and parents angered by surprises in Junior Cert English paper”.

By popular criteria, a paper is “fair” if it features questions teachers can anticipate and prepare their students for. That those caught up in the points race should cherish predictability is understandable.

Educationalists and examiners should, however, work to a different imperative: that the outcome of any given examination can be interpreted as a genuine reflection of the candidate’s ability.

More than 40% of those who achieved a higher level grade D in 2013 were at risk of failure at third-level compared to 12% in 2003. Similar patterns were identified at lower grades. Photograph: Getty ImagesProject Maths linked to decline in third-level performance

This year’s Leaving Cert Irish examinations yet again fail to meet that most fundamental requirement.

What, for example, can be deduced from students’ response to a productive writing section which is an open invitation to regurgitate rote-learned content?

Anyone who doubts the ability of students to do so need only read posts on social media. There, students even talk about sample essays given to them by teachers and how they can easily tailor them to fit one of the nine topics on the paper.

Early indications are that the 2015 favourite will be “The big stories of the day”, which allows scope for a virtual medley of recycled content on subjects from terrorism to drugs to water charges.

Aural component

Perhaps even less challenging is the aural component, where the difference between ordinary and higher level is so subtle as to escape detection. The same recording is used for both levels, with different sets of questions for each.

“I had to check the front page to make sure I actually got the higher level set of questions,” observed one candidate on social media, and with reason.

For the best part, the questions demand nothing more than low-level information processing: to reproduce names, dates, times or phone numbers. Worse are the questions that can be answered without reference to the recording.

Can there be anyone on the island who doesn’t know the answer to “What will be commemorated next year?” And woe to any candidate in Donegal who failed to pick up points in response to “In which county is Gleann Cholm Cille?”

The general knowledge theme continues in reading comprehension (ordinary) where students are asked to name the two main political parties in the US.

In the oral exam candidates are asked to describe a series of pictures – a perfectly valid testing activity rendered meaningless by the fact that the picture sequences, which are identical at higher and ordinary levels, are distributed to schools 18 months before the exam.

Overall, 50 per cent of marks for the oral at both levels are allocated to tasks that can be learned off prior to the exam.

Admirable models

These and other flaws in testing methodology are easily rectifiable – there are admirable models in other language subjects tested by the State Examination Commission.

Indeed, it seems mystifying that such glaring bad practice remains unaddressed. A cynic might conclude pressure to facilitate the desired number of passes in Irish will always win over accurate and meaningful testing.

Perhaps no reworking of the exam papers is possible without a more fundamental reassessment of the curriculum.

Such reassessment must address the needs of the different populations of Irish language learners and move away from the indefensible position of native and non-native speakers following the same curriculum.

There is, in fact, some cause for optimism. The recent Policy Proposals for Educational Provision in Gaeltacht Areas published by the Department of Education and Skills may prove to be a vehicle to drive reform.

Any reform must create a meaningful link between the teaching of Irish at primary and secondary levels and establish systematically defined levels for primary level and for Junior Cert and Leaving Cert students. Such developments would prove the basis for valid, reliable examinations that would allow us to interpret meaningfully the outcomes of the tests.

Siuán Ní Mhaonaigh is a language testing consultant to the Language Centre, Maynooth University.

www.irishtimes.com

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Forms & Notices for use in the Naíonra

June 9, 2015

Please find below a list of sample forms and notices that can be downloaded and adapted to suit your own naíonra. These are sample templates, however, and should be used as a guide only. Naíonraí must ensure that the forms and notices are appropriate to their specific setting. You can order printed copies of any of the forms and notices listed below by contacting us on 01 8535195 or oifig@gaelscoileanna.ie. We hope to add to this list; if you have forms or notices in use in your naíonra that you’d like to share with other services, please contact us.

Ag cur aithne ar do pháiste (bilingual)
Comhaontú maidir le cóir leighis (bilingual)
Foirm chlárúcháin datheangach (bilingual)

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Student diary, Henry Kareem: ‘People laughed with happiness’

June 9, 2015

After last Friday’s ordinary level maths paper, I was devastated. The whole class was devastated. A lot of my classmates just left the questions blank; they didn’t have any idea where to start. People are really worried about how this might impact on their CAO points, and whether they will pass or fail.

So, on Sunday, our maths teacher, Valerie Kane, brought us together for a block study class, to boost our confidence, ease our fears and get us ready for today’s paper two.

When we opened the paper, people laughed with happiness. We had expected another bloodbath, particularly as paper two has a more difficult reputation, but it was fine. The first two or three questions were actually quite easy.

It was a good start to the day. It got better. I took the higher level Irish paper in the afternoon. It went really well. Too well, arguably: here’s an exam that has a time allocation of two hours and 20 minutes. I was done in an hour, as were a lot of my classmates. Maybe we have a particularly good teacher. Fluent I’m fluent in Irish. My family moved to Ireland from Nigeria when I was nine years old and they put me into a Gaelscoil, Lis na nÓg in Ranelagh. I had some English but not a word of Irish. After a year and a half of listening, I’d grown into the language. For the first three years of secondary school, I went to a Gaelscoil in Cabra. The commute from Adamstown became too much so I moved to this school. I love it here.

The Irish language has stayed with me. I feel very privileged to have it. Perhaps it’s coming at it as an outsider which has spurred me on.

But, while I am good at Irish, I’m not so good at French. I think this is because I am dyslexic, which can make it difficult to pick up a language. I was immersed in Irish 24/7; I only did French a few times a week, and most of the syllabus is based around textbooks. My best subject is music; I wonder if this is because many dyslexic people are kinetic, working well with our hands and imagination. When we did Mozart in music class, I just got it, straight away.

I know dyslexia is an advantage. The Leaving Cert doesn’t acknowledge this, because it’s a particular exam, in a particular style, for particular types of learners. It just doesn’t let every student perform to the best of their ability. That’s a shame.

Henry Kareem is one of our Leaving Cert diarists from Adamstown Community College.

www.irishtimes.com

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