STATE EXAMINATIONS COMMISSION
PRESS RELEASE
LEAVING CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION 2017
Almost 58,550 candidates receive results today
16th August 2017
The State Examinations
Commission (SEC) congratulates
and wishes well
for the future the
candidates who sat the Leaving Certificate examination in 2017 and
whose results issued today.
The statements of
provisional results of
this year’s examinations
are available in schools today. From midday, students who
are not in a position to collect their results in person from their school can
access them through the SEC’s internet results service.
General Overview of the Leaving Certificate
The overall number
sitting the examinations
has increased by
0.1% from 58,465 candidates in 2016
to 58,543 in 2017.
Of the candidates who sat Leaving
Certificate examinations this year,
55,770 candidates followed
the Leaving Certificate (Established) programme,
of which 14,025
(25%) followed the
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme.
A further 2,773
(4.7%) candidates followed
the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme.
There has been an upward shift in participation rates at
Higher Level across almost all subjects. While the overall range of results obtained in 2017
remain broadly in line with those
of previous years, the shift in
candidature to Higher Level consequentially has had some impact on the results
profiles at both Higher and Ordinary levels. This is evident at the lower
grades at Higher Level and the upper grades at Ordinary level.
New Leaving Certificate Grading System
A new grading system was applied to all Leaving Certificate subjects in 2017. The new grading system reduces the
number of grades from 14 in the old system, which was in place since 1992, to 8
under the revised arrangements. There has been no change in the examination standards
of the Leaving
Certificate, rather the
change relates to how
candidates’ results are
reported to them
through the new
grading system. More information on this new system is
available below in the Notes for Editors.
What Candidates Should Do Next
Candidates are strongly
advised to consult
the Leaving Certificate
Candidate Information Booklet that
they received earlier this
year, when deciding on their next course of
action. (A copy
of this booklet
is available on
the SEC website www.examinations.ie) Candidates should adhere to the instructions
provided in order to ensure that
they lodge valid
requests for viewing
marked scripts and
appealing results.
Viewing of Marked Scripts
This free service
offers all candidates
the opportunity to
view one or
more of their marked examination scripts and to see
how the marking scheme has been applied to their work. This facility
assists candidates in deciding whether
or not to lodge an appeal against a
result. With the xception of external
candidates, all applications for Viewing of Marked Scripts should be made
through the candidate’s school. The closing date for receipt of completed
application forms in schools is Tuesday 22nd August 2017.
External
candidates should follow
the instructions that accompany their
provisional statement of results.
Candidates will have
access to the
Marking Schemes at the
viewing sessions and will be able to see
how these were applied
to their work. The Viewing of
Scripts will take place in schools on Friday 1st September and Saturday 2nd September
2017.
Marking Schemes
Marking Schemes in
all Leaving Certificate
subjects will be
published and made available to schools to facilitate the
Viewing of Marked Scripts. The marking schemes will also be available on
www.examinations.ie.
Appeals
School-based
candidates who wish
to appeal should
do so through
their school. External candidates
should follow the
instructions that accompany
their provisional statement of
results. All appeal
applications must be
with the State
Examinations Commission by 5pm on Wednesday 6th September. Results of appeals will be issued
in mid-October.
Admissions to Higher Education
The SEC transmits
the results of
all candidates electronically to
the Central Applications Office
(CAO). This brings about the earliest possible issue of college place offers to
candidates.
Chief Examiners’ Reports
Chief Examiners' Reports provide a review of the performance
of candidates in the examinations
and contain detailed
analysis of all
aspects of the
examining process. They also
contain recommendations for teachers and students and generally include examples
of candidates’ answers. There has been a
difference in emphasis in the Chief Examiners Reports since 2013, which has
linked the assessment objectives with the learning objectives outlined in the
syllabi. Reports are published in a
selected number of subjects and
programmes each year.
Following the 2017
examinations, Chief Examiners’
Reports will be published in the Leaving Certificate subjects, Irish, Home economics, Engineering,
and History. It is expected to
publish the reports in Spring 2018.
Leaving Certificate Applied Programme
This year, 2,773 students
took their final stage examinations in the two year Leaving Certificate
Applied (LCA) programme. LCA students have been building their credits right
through the two years of their Leaving Certificate course, so today brings the final stage and full
recognition of their achievements.
The results for LCA students differ from those of their
counterparts in the established Leaving Certificate. Graduates from the LCA
programme receive a single award made on the basis of credits accumulated over
the two year cycle. This award is given at three levels: Pass for those students with total credits of
60% or over but less than 70%; Merit for
70% or over but less than 85%; and Distinction for 85% and above.
The numbers taking the LCA programme over the past five
years and the grades awarded are shown in the following table.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme
The Leaving Certificate
Vocational Programme (LCVP)
is an optional,
two year, academic and
experience-based programme, available in 2 out of 3 post-primary schools. Candidates following
the LCVP take a specified
range of Leaving
Certificate (established)
subjects as well
as a formal
and practical programme
called the Links Modules. The Links Modules consists of
compulsory work experience and enterprise activity together with personal
vocational exploration and substantial use of information technology.
The numbers taking the subject over the past five years and the grades awarded are shown in the
following table:
Non-curricular EU Languages
The SEC provides examinations in a range of EU
non-curricular languages. In order to simplify
the administration of
these examinations, all
non-curricular EU language subjects were again scheduled for a
single examination session this year. It is intended to continue this practice
in future years.
There is a slight increase in the candidature for the
non-curricular EU languages this year – a total of 1,431 as against 1,425 in
2016.
The following table provides the number of candidates in
these language subjects in 2017.
Advice for Candidates
A helpline facility will be operating from early on 16th
August to provide information and advice to students and parents at results
time. The helpline number operated by
the National Parents’ Council (Post-Primary) is: 1800 265 165
(Note: This helpline facility is not operated by the State
Examinations Commission)
All statistics provided in this press release are provisional
for 2017 and as such are subject to
enquiry and appeal.
The SEC publishes on its website (www.examinations.ie)
statistical documentation on the results of
the 2017 Leaving Certificate
examinations for all subject levels
with 10 candidates or more. For reasons of candidate
confidentiality, the SEC only
publishes details of individual subjects/levels for 10 or more
candidates.
2013 figures include 2,743 External and 1,948 Repeat
Candidates.
2014 figures include 2,578 External and 1,768 Repeat
Candidates.
2015 figures include 2,616 External and 1,670 Repeat
Candidates.
2016 figures include 2,819 External and 1,445 Repeat
Candidates.
2017 figures include 2,623 External and 1,172 Repeat
Candidates.
Access to Exam Results
Results are available on-line from 12:00 midday Wednesday,
16th August, 2017.
Access to the
on-line results service,
which requires the
use of the
candidate’s examination number and unique candidate Personal
Identification Number, is through www.examinations.ie.
The closing date for receipt of completed application forms
to view scripts is Tuesday 22nd August
2017. The closing date for receipt by the SEC
of applications to appeal results is Wednesday 6th September 2017.
