The Education Minister has given his backing to new plans to overhaul the Leaving Cert.
The Irish Examiner says the proposals – which will be published today – will change the way students learn by discouraging rote learning and promoting critical thinking.
The college year could be extended too – from next year onwards.
The Leaving Cert has long been criticised for promoting rote learning and teaching to test methods.
This new plan – by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the Higher Education Authority – would eliminate those methods – possibly making the exams tougher.
The college entry points system would be changed too – colleges would have to offer more general entry courses meaning over 800 degrees currently on offer would have to be scaled back.
And the college year would be extended too – starting in early September – to allow greater focus on critical thinking.
The plan proposes an overhaul of the grading system – from the current 14 grade divisions to just 7 – and the maximum points on offer would be 30 instead of 600.
Minister Quinn has said he agrees with the overall thrust of the proposals – which are being published today.
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