People who did the Leaving Certificate last summer and are applying to the CAO this year should have their grades reduced, Ciara Kelly has argued. 

Previously, all Leaving Cert students had their grades automatically boosted by 7.5% to mitigate the impact of the chaos caused by the pandemic. 

Then Minister for Education Norma Foley described it as an “element of fairness” for students whose education had been disrupted. 

This year, students will have their grades boosted by 5%, with the Government keen to avoid a “cliff edge”, although they insist the practice will come to an end “over a number of years”. 

However, students who benefited from 7.5% grade inflation and apply to the CAO this year, will now compete with students whose grades have been inflated by only 5%. 

It is a decision that Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ciara Kelly feels is “unfair to the class of 2025”. 

“So, you have a situation this year where somebody didn’t do well enough last year to get into their course,” she said. 

“They don’t have to repeat the Leaving, they can just sit tight and know that this year’s class will have lower grades automatically than them. 

“That is de facto unfair.” 

Leaving Cert students. Picture by. Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

Ciara added that she has “skin in the game” this year. 

“I have a Leaving Cert student in the class of 2025 who will have his grades elevated by 5.5% - silly but, nonetheless, he will,” she said. 

“But he’s competing against some kids this year who have 7.5%. 

“There’s two things at play here; one is your Leaving Cert results and they are what they are and they’re on paper. 

“The other thing is the CAO and the CAO is nothing but a points race.” 

Students doing their Leaving Cert exams in Bandon, West Cork, 2022. Image: AG News / Alamy Stock Photo

The solution, Ciara believes, is to mark people’s CAO points if they sat their Leaving Certificate before 2025. 

“What I think should happen - I don’t think it will happen because I don’t think we would be radical or brave or reasonable or fair enough to do this,” she said. 

“Yes, the Leaving Cert results for last year, the year before and the year before that should stand. 

“But I think if you go into the pot with this year’s CAO, if you got 600 points, you should be devalued by 2% because you are overvalued by 2% over this year’s cohort.

“So, instead of getting 600 points, if that’s what you got, you should have 588 in this year’s CAO points race.” 

Ciara added that, “Anything else is bloody unfair.” 

Pupils at Beneavin De La Salle College in Finglas. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Co-presenter Shane Coleman admitted the current system “isn’t fair” but said there is also a “big problem with what you’re suggesting”. 

“You could have a student who got six A1s, who got 95%, who didn’t benefit from grade inflation, who would have got 6 A1s 20-years ago, nevermind now,” he said. 

“And you’re saying your results have to be devalued by 2.5%, even though they would have got six A1s 20-years ago? 

“I don’t think you can do that, I don’t think you can say to someone at the cross of a pen, even if you got them justifiably, they have to be reduced.” 

Last year, 136,000 young people sat the Leaving Cert.

Main image: Ciara Kelly in the Newstalk studio. Image: Newstalk