A bonus for mathematics students
August 21, 2012
Sir, –
Thelma Jones and Dr Orla Ní Bhroin (August 18th), both protest at the bonus for Leaving Certificate higher level mathematics. The former because she feels it “favours” those with an aptitude towards mathematics and the latter because she feels it punishes those whose strengths are in languages.
The bonus is designed to reverse a downward serious trend in applicants prepared to work on what was seen as a difficult subject. This trend was having a negative impact on skills that are essential for improving our country and our economy. In this regard the bonus appears to be working.
Perhaps your correspondents could comment on why there is still a bonus for taking the exams in Irish, a skill which is of little value to the country or the economy, other than the less than very small minority who speak it.
I suspect that most employers needing scientific or mathematic skills would find a candidate who knows the terms predominantly in Irish to be a hindrance rather than a benefit. Would it make it more difficult for for such a candidate to work abroad? Now what is the Gaeilge for calculus and trigonometry again?
– Yours, etc,
Andrew Doyle Clifden,
Lislevane, Bandon, Co Cork.
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Girls outperform boys in most Leaving subjects
August 17, 2012
Girls get more honours in English and Irish
FEMALE STUDENTS have outperformed their male counterparts again i n most Leaving Certificate subjects, an analysis of this year’s results shows.
Following their higher-level success last year, girls continue to get more honours in English, Irish, maths, French, German, history and geography.
Subjects in which boys gained more honours grades were construction studies and engineering .
Ordinary level classical studies and combined physics and chemi stry ( higher and ordinary level) had some of the highest failure rates.
In higher-level maths the genders were almost even with 83.3 per cent of females achieved honours, compared to 83.2 per cent of male students.
The failure rate in higher level maths was 2 per cent for girls and 2.7 per cent for boys.
In ordinary level maths girls outperformed boys, with an 8.2 per cent failure rate compared with 10.7 per cent for boys.
In English, more girls than boys sat the higher-level paper and girls ( 78.6 per cent ) did better than boys (73.8 per cent) . The difference was more stark at ordinary level English exam where more boys sat the exam but a significantly larger percentage of girls achieved an honours grade (82.3 per cent for girls compared with 74.1 per cent for boys).
This stark gender difference was also evident at ordinary level Irish where 81.1 per cent of girls achieved honours compared with 68.2 per cent of boys. In higher level the difference was less with 88.4 per cent of girls achieving honours compared with 85.2 per cent of boys.
In European languages – French, German and Spanish – girls outperformed boys at higher level.
In the sciences girls outperformed boys in higher-level physics, chemistry and biology.
At higher level biology 72.7 per cent of girls got an honour compared to 68.5 per cent for the opposite sex.
The difference was closer in the results of physics at higher level where 75.3 per cent of girls achieved an honour compared to74.4 per cent of boys.
Failure rates for chemistry were high for both genders. At ordinary level failure rates were 13.1 per cent for girls and 19.9 per cent for boys. At higher level it was 7.6 per cent for girls and 10.7 per cent for boys.
In business, economics and accounting girls achieved more honours grades than boys,.
Almost twice as many girls as boys took higher and ordinary level music. However the results at higher level were even with a 94.8 per cent honours grade for both sexes.
At ordinary level honours grades in music were high for girls and boys, with 91.8 per cent and 83.3 per cent respectively achieving a C3 or above.
More females than males took higher level art this year and girls achieved more honours at higher level.
Boys edged out girls in ordinary level religious studies, with 74.3 per cent of boys achieving honours compared to 72.7 per cent of girls. Girls outperformed boys at higher level
Classical studies had a high failure rate at ordinary level with 28.5 per cent of girls and 40 per cent of boys failing, although only a small number of students sat the subject at ordinary level.
At foundation level girls outperformed boys in maths and Irish. In Irish 83.1 of girls achieved an honour compared with 69.3 per cent of boys.
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