The additional 25 points that Leaving Certificate students receive for passing higher level maths is undermining education standards, according to a secondary school teacher.

With the Leaving Cert set to see reforms that will introduce class projects as a contributor to final results, many have turned their attention to other aspects of the exam that they see as outdated.

The extra points awarded to higher level Leaving Cert maths students were introduced in 2012 with the long-term goal of improving student’s maths abilities.

However, a piece by Dr Niamh O’Meara in the Irish Times has argued that this goal has not been achieved and that the initiative should be scrapped.

Secondary school English teacher Conor Murphy told Newstalk Breakfast that he agreed wholeheartedly with this assessment.

“As somebody who did ordinary level maths and then repeated at higher level maths, my perspective of this is quite personal,” he said.

“The bonus points are indicative of the problems with the Leaving Cert in totality and that is the CAO, which undermines education at a fundamental level.”

A State Examinations Commission sign on the a door at Beneavin De La Salle College, Finglas, as this year's Leaving Certificate examinations got under way in schools around the country today. Students have been given a choice between exams, accredited grades or both. Picture date: Wednesday June 9, 2021.

Mr Murphy said there is “no talk about the educational value anymore in the Leaving Cert”.

“[Students are] picking maths for the bonus points, they’re not picking maths in order to study maths, in order to use maths later on in their lives or to enjoy maths,” he said.

“As an English teacher, I find that difficult to get my head around a little bit – I’ll give you an example.

“I’m going to be teaching the new drama, film and theatre studies course next year and I’m trying to promote it around the school.

“And the first question the students are asking and the parents are asking is, ‘How easy will it be to get points?’”

Diminishing standards

According to Mr Murphy, students are no longer picking up subjects out of personal interest, but as a strategy to maximise their CAO points.

He said in higher level maths in particular, this results in “weaker” students taking the subject, which leads to class standards slipping.

“Some classes are weaker than others and you slow down the pace in order to make sure [everyone] comes along,” he said.

“If that’s happening all the time in a subject like maths, then obviously the standard is going to diminish substantially as the years go by – and these might not be reflected at all in the grades at the end of the day.”

Overall, Mr Murphy said there is “no need whatsoever” for the extra maths points.

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Main image: Teenage students learning in classroom