A gradual return to normal Leaving Certificate markings will see those graduating in 2025 'pay the price', Newstalk Breakfast host Ciara Kelly has said.
The changes will come into effect after years of disruption and grade inflation due to COVID-19.
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has said a post-marking adjustment will also be applied this year "to ensure that the overall results in the aggregate are no lower on average than last year".
The decision means Leaving Cert students for 2024 will continue to benefit from the grade inflation seen in recent years.
It also confirmed that "the gradual return to normal Leaving Certificate outcomes will begin in 2025".
Ciara Kelly said the system is "deeply, deeply unfair".
"2025 is the year that they're talking about changing this; this is five years post the beginning of the pandemic," she said.
"Five years post the predicted grades [and] kids are still getting the bum's rush off the back of this."
'A glut of at the top'
Ciara said inflated grades mean some students are at more of an advantage than others.
"We treated predicted grades a bit like we treated taxes - we said, 'Let's make them progressive and fair.'" she said.
"We gave DEIS schools a bump, we gave kids at the lower end of the grade spectrum a bump.
"If you are somebody who is a top student you get about 5% grade inflation, if you're not a great student you get 13%.
"It has created a glut of really good students at the top who can't get into their first choice [in college] because grade inflation has gone bananas."
'I have skin in the game'
Ciara said her son is due to sit the Leaving Cert in 2025.
"We're adjusting them next year down to about 5.5% from 7.9%, but we can adjust them up or down whatever way we want," she said.
"We chose to go with crazy levels of grade inflation.
"Full disclosure: I have skin in the game because I have a 2025 Leaving Cert kid who's a good student who wants to get into a good course.
"Every year there is a significant cohort in the CAO from previous years and those years now have an advantage over the 2025 [Leaving Cert students]".
Ciara said those charged with making decisions "bottled it back in 2020".
'No one took responsibility'
Ciara said grade inflation was allowed to run away with itself.
"I actually think we should have stuck to our guns and given things what they should have gotten rather than some valhalla," she said.
"Not only did we inflate them a lot in 2020, we inflated them even more in 2021 - that was the big year for grade inflation.
"The reason it went up was because we had predicted grades and a Leaving Cert and you could choose whichever was higher.
"No one took responsibility and it is the kids in 2025 who are going to pay the price for that," she added.
The SEC also announced yesterday that Leaving Certificate results will be issued to students on Friday August 23rd.
