Katie's Irish Experience

Irelands Schools Vs. American Schools

I knew when I signed up to come to Ireland that there were going to be differences between the Irish schools and the American schools that I have worked at. But I never even fathomed that they would be as different as they are. I have written about how the math is different, but the differences go well beyond mathematical terminology and methodology.

The students are broken up into three categories, higher, ordinary and foundation. The students that excel in subjects are placed in the higher category, the students that are average in their studies are placed in the ordinary category and the students that are weak at certain subjects are placed in the foundation category. Each course has a different outline depending on the category of students that it is for. Students in the higher level courses are expected to memorize more concepts and ideas and they are also expected to do more difficult level problems. The students in ordinary level courses are sometimes given equations and formulas instead of having to memorize them, and same with foundational level students. They are not expected to have to memorized as many of the formulas, equations and concepts as the ordinary level students.

In Ireland there are two certifications that a student needs before they are completed with their Secondary School. The secondary school is like our 7th and 8th grade combined with our high school. There are 6 years of secondary school, with the 4th year being an optional or transitional year between the two certifications. This means that some students will graduate from secondary school after only 5 years and others will graduate after 6 years depending on if they choose to take the transition year. The first certification that a student needs to take is their Junior Certification and the second certification that the students need is the Leaving Certification.

The students take the junior certification exam after their 3rd year, which is like our freshman year in high school. The students take the exams based on the courses that they have taken and the level that they are in (higher, ordinary or foundational). The exams that are offered for the junior certification are :

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
Italian: Higher and Ordinary
Art, Craft & Design: Higher and Ordinary
Music: Higher and Ordinary
Science: Higher and Ordinary
Science (with Local Studies): Higher and Ordinary
Home Economics: Higher and Ordinary
Materials Technology (Wood): Higher and Ordinary
Metalwork: 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
Technology: Higher and Ordinary
Spanish: 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

The students are given grades based on their written performance on the exam and are given grades accordingly:

Percentage Range Grade

85 or over A
70 but less than 85 B
55 but less than 70 C
40 but less than 55 D
25 but less than 40 E
10 but less than 25 F
Less than 10 No Grade

Based on the students performance as well as their dreams for the future the students have three choices of what higher level certification they go into. The three certifications that students have to choose from are The Leaving Certification Established Program, The Leaving Certification Vocational Program and the Leaving Certification Applied Program.

The Leaving Certification Established Program is for those students who would like to go on to Third Level education, namely college. The Leaving Certification Vocational Program is for those students who may want to go on to college but are not sure, so they are also taking some courses for those who choose to work right after secondary school. The Leaving Certification Applied Program is for those students who are certain that they want to begin working right after secondary school. Part of the application process for the leaving cert is based on the results of their junior cert exams, thus if a student performs poorly on their junior certification it would be much more difficult for them to get into the established program. Whereas if a student does very well on their junior cert exams they would be able to pick any of the three leaving certs programs.

The students would take their leaving certification exam after the 6th year of secondary school, the exam that the students take is based on the leaving cert program that they choose to be in as well as the courses that they took while in those programs. The students performance on the leaving cert exams reflects their eligibility for colleges and universities. If a student does very well on the leaving cert exams they would be able to go to almost any college, whereas if a student does poorly on the exams then they would have to appeal to the college or university of their choice or they would have to retake their leaving certification exams.

To me it seems like the leaving certificate exams would be equivalent to the high school graduation test that was proposed by the government a few years ago.

One thing that is completely different between the Irish schools and American schools is the fact that the girls at my school do not get grades on their homework or their quizzes or tests. They get a score and they are aware of their performance, but each year their entire grade is based on a test that they take half way through the year (usually around Christmas time) and then a test that they take at the end of the year in June. These two tests alone are what the girls are graded on. The homework, tests and quizzes that the girls are given throughout the year do not count toward anything. If one of the girls is absent she is not required to make up a quiz or test, she just needs to make sure that she understands the material by the time the midterm and final tests come up in December and June.

posted by Katie @ 4:49 AM