Research has found the revised grading scheme for Leaving Certificate exams has widened the achievement gap between disadvantaged and other schools.

The grading changes, introduced in June 2017, were designed to help to reduce pressure on students at exam time - and enable them to have a broader and more rounded learning experience.

The scheme now has eight grade bands, whereas previously there were 14.

It also awards points to candidates who receive a mark of 30-39% on a higher-level paper, equivalent to the new H7 grade, and is designed to encourage the take-up of higher-level subjects.

The research, commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment on behalf of the Transitions Reform Group, shows that overall more students are taking higher-level subjects - especially Irish, English and maths - as a result of the new grading system.

But it also shows this increase in the uptake of higher level subjects has led to a weakening of the overall grade profile for higher level exams, which was an expected outcome of the reform.

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This is most notable in the cases of maths and Irish, where the increase in the number of students taking these subjects at higher level has been accompanied by an increase in the number of students getting lower grades.

There is also a relatively lower take-up of higher level subjects in smaller schools and in disadvantaged schools that form part of the DEIS programme.

It found DEIS schools did not record the same increases in higher-level take up, widening the gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools in term of the proportion of students taking higher-level.

While small schools faced constraints around class sizes and their ability to offer subjects at different levels to their students.

Education Minister Joe McHugh said: "We are still at an early stage of the reforms and we will need to continue to assess their impacts on students."

Selina McCoy, associate research professor at the ESRI, added: "The research points to challenges for students in making subject level decisions - with the incentives such that they feel pressure to stay with higher level, even though they may feel ill-equipped.

"As a consequence, time on other subjects is displaced and additional stress is created for students."

The full research is available here