Leaving Cert results 2024: Most students’ grades inflated to match last year’s record set of results

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2024/08/23/leaving-cert-results-2024-ireland-full-coverage-breaking-news-students/

Posted by MrWhiteside97

12 Comments

  1. MrWhiteside97 on

    I’m slightly confused at what the purpose of this grade inflation was. I believe it was originally introduced to counter the disruption caused by COVID, but the graph in this article shows that it’s led to much more H1s than previously.

    Surely if it worked as intended the graph should have remained flat because grade inflation would have countered COVID underperformance.

    Just seems like it was a solution that’s created new problems

    EDIT: just putting this here to say that I disagree with all the comments saying that the LC is now somehow “easier” or that kids are being “mollycoddled”, let’s not make this about the students who are just taking the exams put in front of them

  2. Parents / kids don’t like to be told future generations are getting less intelligent even if some probably can’t tie their shoes without googling how to.

  3. Exciting_Revenue645 on

    And Cue the “College dropout rates increase again…” headlines next February

    Senior Cycle System needs a serious overhaul; 4 or 5 subjects with a decent window for career guidance and some ‘adulting’ modules, for lack of a better term or something akin to the UK system I think would be beneficial.

  4. Education in general is becoming such a money maker especially in the private sector. Going through a management/leadership course right now and kept getting annoyed I was only getting 75-80% on the practice. Realized the passing grade is 40%, then it struck me how terrifying that is.

  5. Grade inflation is whatever. But colleges then need to do entrance exams/interview for the extreme cases i.e 625 achieved and still can’t get a place.

    For it to come down to random selection makes a mockery of the thing.

  6. thefapinator1000 on

    Honestly all the people who were just given the leaving cert should have to sit it again

  7. A lot of people being fairly thick going on about ‘mollycoddled grades’ , ‘people should have to sit it again’ , ‘this is the reason for college dropouts’ etc etc.

    Everyone is still on equal footing (barring a few asymmetries in the Covid years) with CAO places being more competitive than ever. As blunt as it sounds, it’s a matter of doing better than everyone in your year, the same as it’s always been, doesn’t really make a difference if the goalposts have shifted from the top 1% being 600 to now being 625.

  8. So you can apply to the CAO with your original LC results until you turn 23 and become a mature student. As someone who used their LC results to get into 1st year of a different course when I was 22, this grade inflation infuriates me. It makes it so, so unfair on the previous year’s students who are applying late for whatever reason. That could be dropping out, gap years, medical issues etc. there’s a million reasons that constant grade inflation is moronic, but I just wanted to mention this one.

  9. The LC used to be hard.  Maths used to be genuinely hard – getting an A was a bit of a big deal.
    Now any jackass can get an A in any subject

  10. Look at the people here trying to claim its easier. You are still competing against your peers so no matter how much grades are inflated it stays the same difficulty