After a high-course case with Rebecca Carter, a student who had to delay her third level education because of the time it takes for an appeal to be marked, the SEC are bringing in an online marking system that will change the way the Leaving Cert is marked.
According to the Independent.ie, it will also be changing the dates to when results are given, as well as changing when the appealed papers results are out. Rebecca Carter had to postpone her CAO application last year due to the wait of the appeals, which came out far too late in order for her to apply for her Veterinarian course.
From this year, Leaving Cert results will be released a day earlier and appeals outcomes will be delivered on September 16 rather than October 10.
The SEC will now introduce an online marking system that will cut out the risk of incorrect totting of marks, which was the main reason for Ms.Carter’s appealed paper.
Before, the examiners were dealing with the physical papers, jotting down marks and totting them up, which leaves a lot of room for human error. The online marking system, which is broadly used across England and Northern Ireland, cuts out the possibilities of these errors. The paper is photocopied and sent to the examiner electronically, and then the examiner can mark the paper, and the results will be calculated by the computer.
This will cut out a lot of administrative work, and the results will be transferred from the examiner to clerical operators, to the student much more efficiently.
Last year that it was reported that “non- teachers” correcting these exams putting the integrity of the state examination at risk. Moving the marking system online is a step in the right direction for addressing concerns around a flawed system.
This will come into effect for Leaving and Junior certificate exams this year.
