Some 61,500 students entered the 2021 Leaving Certificate (LC) last week; consisting of both examinations and accredited grades.

Similar to last year’s examinations, this year’s LC is operating a two-layered approach. Students had the option to either sit their examinations or receive accredited grades, or both, on a subject-by-subject basis.

According to the State Examinations Commission (SEC), this ensures a fair approach – one which considers the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic and its impact on students.

The majority of students have confirmed their intention to sit examinations this year, with 90% of all students indicating they will sit examinations in one or more subjects and almost 40,000 indicating their intention to present in five or more subjects, as outlined by the SEC.

Two options

The students who chose to sit exams will only be provided with their examination results, while those who opted for accredited grades will only be provided their accredited grades.

Those who have opted for both will be allocated the better result of the two processes.

The SEC have announced that the performance of students in their written examinations will have no bearing when calculating their accredited grades and vice versa.

[...] student grades are estimated by student performance over the academic year

Both the examinations and accredited grades approach will operate as two separate processes and will only be brought together to determine the best results for the students who have opted for the both approaches.

Commenting on the accredited grade approach, a spokesperson from the SEC said that with this process, student grades are estimated by student performance over the academic year. These grades then go through a standardisation process to ensure grades provided are fair and justified.

Results

Results are expected to be issued on the 3 September 2021 through the student self-service portal. Every student will have access to an appeals process for both accredited grades.

A guidance councillor will also be available throughout schools across the country

The SEC spokespersons says, for any student unhappy with their results, accredited grades will be subject to a data integrity check and scrutinised to ensure they are correct.

Students unhappy with their examination results can appeal to have their exams re-marked. A guidance councillor will also be available throughout schools across the country on the 3 September to provide assistance to any students who require assistance.