'Radical' plan to replace Junior Cert

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1103/breaking26.html

'Radical' plan to replace Junior Cert

The current Junior Cert is to be abolished and replaced with what Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has described as a radical new system that would address the problem of rote learning and provide for greater creativity and innovation.

Mr Quinn today backed proposals by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) for reform of the Junior Cycle in secondary schools.

The Minister sought the co-operation of teachers and schools in implementing the proposed changes, which will begin on a phased basis in 2014 for first examination in 2017. He said the plans were designed to strengthen key skills and provide for “more relevant and flexible forms of assessment”.

Mr Quinn welcomed the recommended limit on the number of subjects at Junior Cert level, and the reduction in the content of syllabuses to make space for “active learning and the embedding of key skills”.

But he said these issues would have to be explored further in discussions on implementation, particularly in terms of what the changes would mean for timetabling and delivery in schools.

Last month the Minister agreed that the cap, limiting the subjects taken to a maximum of eight, would not come into effect on a mandatory basis until students beginning second level in 2014 were sitting their first exams in 2017.

Mr Quinn said today, however, he would encourage schools and students “to move in this direction as soon as possible”.

He said it was important that information and computer technology (ICT) was strengthened across all subjects and short courses, and that reform in assessment was “essential” to provide real change in teaching and learning, and in the student experience.

Mr Quinn welcomed the proposal for a ‘Level 2’ award for students with special needs for whom the junior certificate is unsuitable.

The Minister said he had asked his officials to begin discussions with the education partners on implementing the proposals.

“I will also put the necessary arrangements in place to begin the assessment and consideration of the resource implications of the proposals,” he told a board meeting of the NCCA.

Chairman of the council Prof Tom Collins said the launch of the proposals with the support of the Minister represented “a historic achievement” for the council.

Prof Collins said the current social and economic crisis had played a part in shaping the proposals. There was, he said, a “shift in emphasis from describing what subjects are taught, to a focus on what students should learn”.

Chief executive of the council Dr Anne Looney said 2014 might sound like a long way away, but that schools needed to begin planning for the changes early next year. “It means that children now in fourth class in primary school, who will leave post-primary school in 2020, will be the first to access the new qualification,” she said.

Supporting schools and teachers who would lead the change would be critical, Dr Looney added.

The Teachers' Union of Ireland said it accepted the need for reform of the exam. This must, however, be “underpinned by a full commitment to the availability of the necessary resources for the implementation of any change”.

The union’s general secretary, Peter MacMenamin, said there was a “real fear” among teachers that without these resources, reform “could do more harm than good at a time when the education system is struggling to tread water”.

Copies of the proposals are being sent to secondary schools. The details are also available at ncca.ie/juniorcycle

Main points 

* A revised Junior Certificate programme at Level 3 of the National Qualifications Framework (as at present), but with a cap on the number of subjects which can be taken for assessment for qualification purposes.

* All students will be required to cover 24 statements of essential learning which are focused on such areas as communications, language, mathematical concepts, critical thinking, citizenship and sustainable values, environmental, economic and social knowledge, consumer skills, ICT, and creating and appreciating art.

* Subjects will be reduced to 200 hours, expect for the core subjects of Maths, Irish and English which will be 240 hours.

* There will be a limit on the number of subjects that can be taken for qualification purposes - a maximum of eight subjects, or seven subjects plus two short courses, or six subjects plus four short courses.

* Six key skills will be embedded in subjects - Managing Myself, Staying Well, Communications, Being Creative, Working with Others and Managing Information and Thinking.

* Subjects will be assessed by means of a written examination set and marked by the State Examinations Commission, and a portfolio marked by the class teacher in the school. The porfolio will be moderated by the school and subject to external moderation by the exams body. The portfolio will generally attract 40 per cent of the marks, and the written exam 60 per cent.

* Report-card templates will be developed by the NCCA for reporting to parents on a student’s progress. These will be available in 2012/13, for use by schools in 2013/14.

* The subject reforms will begin on a phased basis in 2014 for first examination in 2017.

* Changes to the English curriculum will be implemented first "in keeping with the priorities in the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy".