Over 67,100 junior cycle students receive results today

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has congratulated the candidates who sat the Junior Cycle examination in 2022 and whose results issued today.

Some 594,000 grades in 21 individual subjects are being provided to 67,130 candidates this year.

The overall number sitting Junior Cycle examinations has increased by 4.4% on 2019 and the proportion of candidates who are re-entrants to education has fallen from 0.86 % of the cohort in 2019 to 0.26% in 2022.

Individual Statements of Provisional Examination Results have been posted to arrive at schools this morning.

Schools will also receive a report for the school showing the results for each candidate.

Any candidate unable to attend school can access their results online on www.examinations.ie from 4pm.

Access to the service requires the use of an examination number and a unique candidate Personal Identification Number and this information has recently issued to schools.

This year marks a welcome return to externally delivered Junior Cycle examinations for all candidates and the first year in which all examinations are being delivered under the reformed Junior Cycle curriculum.

In November 2020 and 2021, Junior Cycle examinations were held for adult learners and early school leavers only, with examinations cancelled for all other candidates and replaced by school-based assessment.

Until 2019, only English, Science and Business Studies had been examined under the reformed Junior Cycle curriculum. Apart from Irish, English and Mathematics which are examined at Higher and Ordinary level, all other Junior Cycle subjects are now at Common level.

Adjusted assessment arrangements were announced in the Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2022 to take account of the disrupted learning experienced by candidates during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Candidates taking the Junior Cycle final examinations in 2022 were not required to complete Assessment Tasks for relevant subjects. In subjects with a practical or coursework component some changes were made to the timing and/or requirements of the practical or coursework component.

According to the SEC, providing examinations has been a significant undertaking in the current year.

"The deferred Leaving Certificate ran until 16 July for candidates who missed their examinations due to bereavement, serious illness or Covid-19. Additional time was also needed to give effect to the commitment that the results on aggregate would be no lower than in 2021 which was achieved through a post-marking adjustment," explained a spokesperson for the SEC.

"Despite extensive and ongoing efforts, and the support of all of the education stakeholders, the number of examiners fell short of the numbers required for the 2022 examinations.

"A range of interventions was needed to complete the marking of most subjects during the summer which included marking well beyond the normal marking window and examiners agreeing to take on additional scripts," the spokesperson continued.

"However, it was not possible to complete the marking and a further contingency arrangement was necessary in some subjects to complete the marking in recent weeks.

"The SEC is extremely grateful for the cooperation it receives from thousands of teachers each year to undertake the critical work of marking the examinations. We are especially grateful to those who have recently supported us in completing the Junior Cycle marking noting that many of these teachers were back in school and gave up their evenings and weekends to this work."

Pre-pandemic the SEC had been experiencing significant difficulties in attracting, recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of teachers to undertake this vital work which came into sharp focus this year.

"Recruitment and retention of teachers as examiners is not only an issue for the SEC, it is an urgent whole of system issue at second level," continued the SEC spokesperson.

"Our continued objective is to substantially increase the numbers of teachers involved so that the experience is a positive one which greatly enhances teacher professional competence as well as earning power. The SEC will be reviewing with all of the stakeholders how best to ensure the availability of teachers in the required numbers to complete this important examination work in 2023 and beyond.

"On a positive note, the rate increases which were introduced on a once-off basis in 2022 have now been assured for 2023 with the assignment of an additional €11m provided on Budget Day to maintain these increased examiners pay rates."

Appeals

Applications for review of Junior Cycle examination results, which must be made through the candidate’s school, should be received by the SEC no later than 5pm on Wednesday 30 November. Applications for appeal will be accepted only from the School Authority confirming that the examination result attained by the candidate is significantly at variance with the result expected. Details of the process have been provided to schools. The SEC does not accept appeal applications directly from candidates, parents or individual teachers.

Marking Schemes

The official marking schemes for all subjects will be published on the SEC website, www.examinations.ie by the end of this week.

The reporting process at Junior Cycle culminates in the award of the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) to students. The JCPA replaces the Junior Certificate and consequently the SEC no longer issues these certificates. The JCPA will draw upon and report on achievement across all areas of learning including Classroom-Based Assessments; Short Courses, Priority Learning Units and other areas of learning, as well as the SEC examination results.

Further information will be issuing to schools from the Department of Education regarding the arrangements for the production of the 2022 JCPA documents in schools.