Junior Certificate
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Image:Juniorcert1.jpg The Junior Certificate Examination (Irish: An Teastas Sóisearach) (commonly known as the Junior Cert) is a mandatory Irish second level test accredited by the State Examinations Commission. The test is taken in a secondary school student's third year and not before age 14. A student usually takes 9 to 10 subjects, including English, Irish, Maths and a foreign language. The examination does not reach the standards for college or university entrance, instead a school leaver in Ireland will typically take the Leaving Certificate Examination two or three years after completion of the Junior Certificate.
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History
The Junior Cert officially replaced the Intermediate Certificate Examination (Inter Cert) in 1992. The new, modern course was acclaimed as it was much more flexible than its predecessor. The Junior Cert quickly became the minimum requirement for getting a job in Ireland. Near the end of the decade, in 1999 the Department of Education and Science began to replace the curriculums of many subjects, particularly those that were dated such as History and Geography. In 2000 Religious Education and CSPE were introduced as subjects. Religion was phased in with just a few schools adopting it in its first year, whilst CSPE was implemented nationwide. In 2002 a new Science course was introduced. The new course placed emphasise on greater class participation and a move towards giving a percentage of marks for class practicals throughout the three years. In 2004, results were made available on the Internet for the first time, allowing students who had moved school or left school to get their results without having to return to their old school.
The Junior Cert Course
The Courses
Image:Juniorcertbooks.jpg Students' study the Junior Cert course during the first three years of second level education. In the final year of the course, teachers allocate a substantial amount of time for revision of key topics. Candidates also pratice answering questions which appeared on previous examintaion papers. Courses are quite broad - for example the Business studies course covers business organisation, marketing, economics, accounting and several other areas. The same is also true for the Science course, which covers basic Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The Leaving Cert exam by comparison is much more specific.
Subjects available
The following is a list of all options available for the Junior Certificate. Many schools only offer a small subset of these options. Mandatory subjects are in bold, levels are in parentheses.
- Irish (Higher, Ordinary and Foundation)
- English (Higher, Ordinary and Foundation)
- Mathematics (Higher, Ordinary and Foundation)
- History (Higher and Ordinary)
- Geography (Higher and Ordinary)
- French (Higher and Ordinary)
- German (Higher and Ordinary)
- Spanish (Higher and Ordinary)
- Italian (Higher and Ordinary)
- Art, Craft & Design (Higher and Ordinary)
- Music (Higher and Ordinary)
- Science (Higher and Ordinary)
- Home Economics (Higher and Ordinary)
- Materials Technology Wood (Higher and Ordinary)
- Materials Technology Metal (Higher and Ordinary)
- Technical Graphics (Higher and Ordinary)
- Business studies (Higher and Ordinary)
- Typewriting (Higher and Ordinary)
- Environmental and Social Studies (ESS) (Higher and Ordinary)
- Materials Technology (Higher and Ordinary)
- Latin* (Higher and Ordinary)
- Ancient Greek* (Higher and Ordinary)
- Classical Studies* (Higher and Ordinary)
- Hebrew Studies (Higher and Ordinary)
- Religious Education (Higher and Ordinary)
- Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) (Common)
- *Subject exclusions - candidates may not take any of following subject combinations
- Classical Studies and Latin
- Classical Studies and Greek
In the case of Irish, students not resident in Ireland for more than 7 years are exempt from the taking the subject.
As of the 2006 (June) examination, Science (with Local Studies) is no longer an exam. Local studies and Applied science offered 40% of your grade in Ordinary Level or 25% in Higher Level. The Science syllabus was revised and the choice for either the Applied Science or Local studies exams was scrapped, being replaced with one common exam paper. 35% of your grade in Science now depends on your coursework recorded.
Irish as a mandatory subject
There has been much controversy in recent years over Irish being a mandatory subject. Students feel that as the language has fallen into disuse in most parts of the country, it should not be mandatory. Since late 2005 there has been talk within the Department of Education of the subject becoming optional.
The Examination
The exam takes place after 3 years of the course, in early June. The exams always start with English, then the other main subjects and finally finish with the subjects that have the fewest candidates. The exams can take the form of written papers, aurals, orals, practicals and marks from course work assignments (such as in CSPE, where 60% of the exam rests on an action project). Exams are usually 2-3hrs long, most subjects are one paper only (i.e. they are taken in a single session), however 4 subjects have two papers at higher level - Irish, English, Maths and Business.
Levels
At Junior Cert, students can take the exams at 3 levels. They are:
- Higher (also called Honours) - most students take higher.
- Ordinary (also called Pass) - common in subjects like English, Irish and Maths - rarer in other subjects (1 in 10 or so).
- Foundation - quite rare - only taken if a student is very weak in a particular subject (such as a non-native speaker taking Foundation English). Foundation is only available in the core subjects (English, Irish, Maths).
In CSPE, there are no separate levels, all students take the same (common) level.
After the Junior Certificate, if a student has taken Ordinary level, he/she can take Higher level at Leaving Certificate level.
Grading
Grades are awarded as shown in diagram below.
Image:Junior certificate grading.png
Anything over 55% is described as an 'honor'. Marking schemes are freely available to students before exams - however at Junior Cert level, exam papers are not returned after the exam. If a candidate feels he/she has been unfairly marked, they can have the paper rechecked (i.e Appealed) for a fee of €30. To appeal, one must tell one's school's principal. They write a letter to the State Examinations Commission with your exam number and subject of appeal along with the fee. The appeals always have to be in by a deadline (For the year 2005 the appeal results were deadlined for 30th September ). The appeal results are usually released by the second week of November.
Irish
In the Junior Certificate candidates have the option of answering either in Irish or in English (except in the case of the subjects Irish and English and questions in other language subjects). A candidate who answers in Irish at the written examination in certain subjects will be given bonus marks in addition to the marks gained in the subject. Bonus marks are awarded at the rate of 15% of the marks obtained. If a candidate has reached the mark of 75% or higher without the Irish bonus, then the Irish bonus will not be awarded.
Exemptions
Students who face disadvantages (i.e. suffer spellling problems from dyslexia) etc. can apply for an exemption from being penalised for bad spellings in exams such as English and Irish. These candidate will automatically be awarded all marks possible for spelling (e.g. 20 out of a possible 180 marks going for spelling in English will be automatically awarded).
After the Exam
Results
Results are released in mid-September. The Junior Certificate (and more so, the Leaving Certificate) results take centerplace in the Irish media for the week surrounding their release. The newspapers publish various statistics about the exam and cover high achievers (usually 4 or 5 get 11 As). Schools generally give students (who have received their results) the day off and discos especially for the teenagers are organised most cities and towns. These discos have come under criticism lately due to large amounts of underage drinking. However, this is just a small part of the huge problem of consistent underage drinking in Ireland.
Appealing Grades
If a student is unhappy with a grade they received on any of the exam results, they may appeal the decision made by the SEC. They need to pay a fee (in 2005 the fee was €30 and the principal of the school writes a letter of appeal application to the State Examinations Commission, stating the candidate's name, exam number and the exam they would like to appeal. There is a deadline to appeal, usually 14-21 days after the results are published, in which the student's application must be made. The appeal results are usually handed out mid-November. The grade that is received this time is final, and no more appeals can be made. If the candidate's grade did not change, no further action will be taken. However, if a change did occur, then the candidate will be refunded the appeal fee via a Cheque made out to the principal of the school. These refunds take time to be issued, but in an appeal made in 2005(September) the refund was issued as late as March 2006.
Drop-Outs
Although school attendance in Ireland is relatively high - many students drop-out of the education system after completion of the Junior Certificate. Many drop-out to pursue apprenticeships in the various trades such as carpentry, bricklaying, plastering and mechanics. It is estimated that in parts of Dublin, the drop-out rate is as high as 25% - however the rate is much lower on a national basis. Those who stay in the education system sit the Leaving Certificate - the requirement for college entry in Ireland. There is a new type of leaving cert called the leaving cert applied which is there to prevent people from dropping out. It is all practical work and you can work after school or do an apprenticeship.
Transition Year
After the Junior Cert students in many schools can take Transition Year also called 4th Year. It is not part of either the Junior or Leaving Cert courses and offers students the chance to try new things. During Transition Year, many students participate in enterprise projects, travel to France or Germany to study French or German, do First Aid courses, join volunteer groups or take classes in subjects such as Applied Maths. It is seen as a form of a gap year, to allow students (particularly younger students) a chance to prepare for the Senior Cycle and to develop their weaker subjects.
Controversy
There has been much criticism in recent years of both the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate courses by several groups in Irish society - teachers, parents, the media and indeed the students themselves. The main criticisms being voiced are:
- The terminal exam system is claimed by many to be outdated - a system of continuous assessment like that used in Germany is said to be fairer and place less pressure on students than measuring their entire performance in a single exam - in defense terminal examinations allow the student to study a topic completely and coherently rather than attempting to over modularise topics. Also terminal systems allow for greater external examination, in effect external auditing, which is the cornerstone of education in Ireland at all levels.
- The actual course is claimed by some to be out of date:
- The accounting section of the business course is still done in ledgers - while most accounting today is done in spreadsheets programs such as Microsoft Excel,
- In some curriculum books chapters dealing with computers use 5" and 3.5" floppy disks as methods of storage (these are now reasonably redundant, being replaced by CD-Rs and flash drives). However, the examination intended to provide the student with generic rather than specific skills that would be more appropriately obtained at a higher level such as degree.
- Some people feel there is a lack of practical examinations in such subjects as science - it should be noted a revised course has been introduced to address these issues, there is more focus on experiments and labwork. A Coursework B element which requires students to formulate their own experiment from a given topic has been introduced, these additions make up to 40% of the overall exam. (The Written being the remaining 60%) - The older course often led to poor motivation in such practical subjects and a poor interest and takeup of science and technology in general at higher education.
- The system has been accused of failing weaker students, meaning if a student performs poorly from an early stage, there is very little support for him/her to improve - as noted above, students who take lower level exams on the Junior Certificate are discouraged from attempting higher level exams for the Leaving Certificate.
- The system can tie a person's entire life's success to two exams - if they perform poorly in the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate, the range of career options open to them, including college study, can be much more limited. However compared to the international experience students have a relatively late start in formal examinations, thus the system is not unnecessarily examination or performance oriented, or at least until the mid-teens, often a source of criticism in other countries where systems are more tuned for the benefit of the school's standing rather than the student.