Leaving Cert grading will return to pre-pandemic ‘normal’ from 2025

Changes to the grading system which were introduced during the pandemic will gradually be phased out.

Various measures including predicated grades and accredited grades led to an increase of around 7pc in the grades achieved compared to pre-pandemic results.

Education Minister Norma Foley said there will be “no cliff edge”, but current post-marking adjustments will be phased out from 2025.

Speaking to Today with Claire Byrne on Wednesday, she said: "The reason it remains in place for the class of 2024 is because they are the last cohort of students that didn’t have the opportunity to sit or to take a Junior Cycle exam, a State exam. They didn’t have a formal exam.”

She said the changes must be made in the interests of “fairness” and “accuracy” in the exams, but will be gradually tapered out.

There are no plans to change measures that offered greater choice to students on the exam papers.

The State Examinations Commission will continue to apply the adjustment after all marking on the exams is completed to ensure the grades in the aggregate reach the appropriate levels.

From next year, the adjustment will bring the overall results in the aggregate to a point “broadly midway between” the level from 2020 and 2021.

Future adjustments after 2025 and the timeline for phasing out a post-marking adjustment will be informed by the 2025 experience.

“As is widely recognised, we must return aggregate results towards pre-pandemic levels,” said Education Minister Norma Foley yesterday.

“However, given the disruption to teaching and learning for students, it was right to maintain overall results at their current level in the last two years through a post-marking adjustment.

"It is right to do so again in 2024, with the majority of students this year not having had the opportunity to sit Junior Cycle examinations given that most students sitting the Leaving Certificate examinations in 2024 would have completed Junior Cycle in 2021.”

She said there must be a return to the “normal arrangements” for Leaving Certificate outcomes and the gradual reduction in the level of post-marking adjustments will “minimise the impact on students”.

"I can confirm that the process of returning Leaving Certificate outcomes to pre-pandemic levels will begin for 2025 students and it will be a gradual process, in line with my commitment that there would be no cliff-edge in terms of a return to pre-pandemic outcomes.

The Leaving Certificate results will this year be issued on Friday 23 August, she confirmed.

In respect of Junior Cycle, the assessment adjustments in place since 2022 in relation to Classroom Based Assessment will remain for students sitting Junior Cycle in 2025 and 2026.