Up to the late 1980s, an A-level course was a simpler, linear affair running over two years with an exam at the end, but a series of reforms gradually transformed it to its current modular structure that includes some continuous assessment, much of it in response to criticisms that it forced students to specialise too early and from a narrow range of subjects. Some modest reforms to the Leaving Certificate will be introduced later this year, such as a new grading system, but it is thought that current reforms to the Junior Certificate cycle – which aim to foster skills such as creativity, team-working and managing information – may have a greater impact on the Leaving Cert in the longer term if they prove to be successful.īut how do other countries assess students in their final year at secondary school?

Much of this criticism stems from the fact that there is little in the way of continuous assessment, and that it disproportionately rewards those who are good at memorising and reproducing large chunks of a given course without really engaging with it, or that success owes as much to stamina as it does to intellect. But it has also been criticised in more recent times, with many openly asking if this high-stakes exam represents the fairest or most satisfactory way of assessing our children’s abilities and aptitudes. As school final-year examination systems go, the Leaving Certificate has sustained a reasonably good international reputation over the years for high academic standards.

Non uk high school leaving certificate