Leaving Cert grade inflation means this year’s CAO offers could be challenged in the courts, an education expert has warned.
Previously, Leaving Cert students had their grades boosted by 7.5% on average to mitigate the impact of the chaos caused by lockdown.
This year, students will have their grades boosted by 5.5%; however, students who benefited from 7.5% grade inflation and apply to the CAO in 2025, will now compete with students whose grades have been inflated by only 5.5%.
On Newstalk Breakfast, guidance counsellor Brian Mooney said this gives the class of 2024 who apply this year a noticeable advantage.
“Which probably means, at the top of the scale, around 12 CAO points,” he said.
“The problem, of course, is that effectively for every four candidates who would be applying for Round 1 places, places offered at the end of August for students under 23-years of age, primarily doing the Leaving Cert in Ireland, three will be from this year’s class and one will be from a previous year holding that 12 point advantage.
“For really tight competitions at the top of the scale, you will find that a 12 point advantage for that one-in-four will affect, obviously, who gets places.”
A Leaving Cert exam hall. Picture by: AG News/Alamy Live News.Mr Mooney urged the Department of Education to act now and change the system while there is still time.
“For 2022, 2023 and 2024, the papers were corrected in the normal way and then they were adjusted upwards to make them not at a disadvantage to 2020 and 2021,” he said.
“That data is sitting there in the State Examination Commission’s database; why don’t we just allow the students in 2025 to have the same adjustment as in the last three-years?
“Then state that from 2026, we’re going to get rid of adjustments altogether? But we’re only going to use the preadjusted data from students from ‘22, ‘23, ‘24 and ‘25.
“In other words, everyone would be on the same level playing field.”
Students at the start of their exams as this year's Leaving Certificate examinations. Picture by: Alamy.com.Minister for Education Helen McEntee has previously told Newstalk that she is “live” to the concerns of students sitting their Leaving Certificate exams this year.
However, she added that she had been advised there is no “legal basis” to change a student’s CAO points.
Mr Mooney said legal action might take place whatever the Minister decides.
“Well, the courts might also disagree in September if some student who misses out on a place, who is a student from 2025 and misses out by five or 10 points for a place where one-in-four applicants have unfair competition,” he said.
“It’s a question of decision making, ultimately if we were to bring this in, we would have to adjust the CAO rulebook for 2026 and that would have to be done in the next couple of weeks.”
CAO results will be released on August 22nd.
Main image: People walk around the grounds of Trinity College Dublin. Picture by: Getty Images.
