A number of parents have voiced their concerns about how the calculated grading system has impacted their children's Leaving Cert results.
This year's grades were released earlier this week, with average marks up 4.4% on last year.
The system saw 16.9% of grades reduced from the grades estimated by teachers.
However, as a result of the increase in grades, the CAO point requirements for many popular college courses have risen significantly.
Several parents spoke to Lunchtime Live about how their children had been impacted by this year's grading process.
Caller Andrea said her daughter is 'devastated' after her grades in four subjects were 'downgraded'.
She said: "She will not get a place in medicine this afternoon, which she's very upset about because she's a super student.
"She scored nine As in her Junior Cert... she applied for medicine, and did her HPAT [Health Professions Admission Test]. The HPAT test did go ahead, because that happened in February... she scored 187, which was an amazing score. She was in the top 6% of students in that exam.
"We were full sure on Monday she would score well enough in her Leaving Cert to get a place. But she didn't, and she was distraught on Monday."
Andrea's daughter is now set to miss out on a place in medicine by just 10 points - meaning she'd have gotten her place even if she'd been downgraded in three subjects instead of four.
Andrea said she'd now like to see a more robust and broader appeals process, as well as a 'solid guarantee' that students who want to will be able to sit exams later this year.
Grade inflation is 'extraordinary'
John's daughter got her results earlier this week, but he suggests the weighting system for grades may have been 'inaccurate'.
He said: "It appears as if in order to engender fairness in the system, the Department put a bell curve over the results - which means a small number of people will do very, very well, and then more people will do less well, and there's a kind of curve in the shape of a bell over which the grades are allocated.
"I'm not complaining - relative to the grand scheme of things, my family thankfully are very, very fortunate.
"I'm just saying the Department and the Minister have taken liberties with people's understanding of how the grades have been allocated.
"My daughter had expected to get H2s or H3s in [some] subjects... but because she's in a high-performing school with a well-performing school cohort, she dropped by a grade or two in those subjects. That impacted on her eventual results.
"We've been told there has been grade inflation by 4% this year, which is extraordinary... to my mind, it suggests the weighting they've put to it... is inaccurate."
Points are 'going up'
Meanwhile, Niamh says her son is 'not great' after receiving his results.
She said: "My question is how they have come to these results. Norma Foley had said 17% of students were de-graded - how did they pick that 17%?
"My son was graded in chemistry and biology: he had tutoring for chemistry, and the odd time he'd find biology difficult as well.
"With chemistry, his tutor couldn't believe he'd gone down to a H4 from a H1 or 2."
Niamh said the 5,000 new places in third-level institutions is "not going to be enough", because they're giving it to the high-demand subjects.
She observed: "What about students that come in at 450, 460... even 500 points?
"Looking at [my son's] points now, he's got the requirements for the course he wants to do - but looking at the newspaper all those courses are going up."
