Students who get 20% in their Junior Cycle exams will pass them, under planned new reforms.

The Department of Education wants to shift the emphasis from exams to on-going assessment.

According to the Irish Times, other proposals being considered in a draft circular also include using merits and distinctions to show which students get highest marks in their grades.

The paper says instead of traditional grades - such as As and Bs - it proposes that students would be graded using descriptive terms such as “merit” or “distinction”. For example, a student who receives between 90 and 100

It gives an example that a student who receives between 90 and 100% in the final written exam would receive a 'distinction'.

The Irish Times says between 75% and 90% will be 'higher merit', while between 55% and 75% will be a 'merit'.

And those who score between 20% and 40% will be awarded a 'partially achieved' grade.