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YOU MAY REMEMBER that back in June, there was something of a small furore over a printing blunder on the Higher Level Leaving Certificate Maths Paper 2.
The mistake, on a question worth 30 marks out of a total of 300, meant that one question had multiple correct answers – but was also technically impossible to solve. (You can see our full explainer on exactly what the problem with the question was here).
Maths tutor Eamonn Toland, who put together this video explaining the mistake, explained it at the time by saying that the question could have seemed unnervingly straightforward to students with a good grasp of maths – but who may have become flummoxed if they had tried another method to solve the question and gotten another equally valid answer.
“It’s a bit ironic that the more you know about maths, the more problems that this triangle will cause you,” Eamonn explained.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn ordered an investigation into how the error happened and said the mistake would be taken into account in the marking scheme for the exam.
The State Examinations Commission said today that its review of the error found that approximately 4 per cent of total number of candidates who sat the paper appeared to have been impacted by the mistake.
However, the SEC said it was satisfied that there had been no adverse effects on candidate’s results.
The SEC, said it used a “special protocol” to ensure that no candidate was put at a disadvantage with the marks they received on the erroneous question, while also making sure that all candidates were treated fairly. The SEC said it took a number of steps to ensure this happened, including:
The strategy involved: developing criteria to assist examiners to identify affected scripts; the application of a specific marking scheme to the affected scripts; scrutiny of all affected scripts by a senior member of the examining team to monitor the effectiveness of the criteria and marking strategy; recording of detailed item by item outcomes of the affected scripts for comparison with similar information on various comparator groups and monitoring of the process by a management group.
A statistical analysis was carried out on the results on individual questions which were obtained by people who sat the affected paper, compared to a similar group of results. Ten additional scripts were also reviewed, and the SEC said none of the ten candidates showed any evidence of having been affected by the error.
“The SEC is satisfied that the strategies used were effective in addressing disadvantage caused to those candidates who were affected by the errors on this paper,” it said.
The criteria used to identify the scripts of candidates affected by the errors and the marking strategy used to address any disadvantage arising from it will be fully outlined in the marking scheme for the subject which will be published on the SEC’s website later this month.
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They should do this with pensioners and knitting.
Given THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, the spider didn’t build a web, it built a hammock, where it lay all day and watched the caffeine spider go.
The crack cocaine spider figured building webs was for suckers, waited till the caffeine spider was exhausted, then came up behind it and popped a cap in its ass. Nice web, Mr. Crack Spider.
When winter came, the marijuana spider had no place to live, it ended up in the crack web as the crack spider’s bitch.
Ha ha!
I wonder what the Irish spider would do after a few pints of Guinness ? Probably a straight web to the pub !!
True story this;- ‘ The Roughty bar ‘ in Kenmare, – an American came in & ordered a pint of ‘ real Irish Guinness ‘, The barman was just topping the pint when a little spider fell off the tap, onto the head of the pint.
Barman puts pint up on the counter to the Yank,
Yank says “hey, I ain’t drinkin’ that, there’s a spider in it…!! ”
Barman says sorry, & flicks the spider off the head.
Yank says; ” hey, – I still ain’t drinkin’ that…!! ”
Barman says;- ” What the hell is wrong with you, – you won’t drink it with the spider, – you won’t drink it without the spider……!! “…
The spider in my house at the moment is on speed!! I knock the webs down and he’s coming along behind me building them back up! the little sh&te!
I recommend you squash him so..!
Innocent animal.
There is nothing innocent about spiders.
he’s on speed!!
Spiders kill flies, the real bad guys.
Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
That spider probably had a bad upbringing.
very true Kardia! there is a spider web that wouldn’t look out of place in spider Beverly Hills in my garden shed and he’s just waiting for those filthy blue bottles to arrive! he’s huge and I reckon he’s partial to the odd splif or two. he just sits there looking all chilled just waiting for his spider chicken bucket!
Ha ha
Was the marijuana web an actual web or an artist impression of what the spider said he would create some day?
I think, out of these, I’d rather have the Marijuana world thankyou :)
Scary, the world we have is probably the Caffeine one :(
On my second mug of coffee sa I raed Tihs :)
The house spider Tegenaria pictured doesn’t spin webs, instead it makes a funnel and attacks prey straying near the entrance. Coffee time.
Was this a World Wide experiment ?
Look it up on the web :P
I don’t know 1 Web developer who can get through the day without coffee.
My dream of setting up a web based business has just been shattered.
The video of this experiment
Jasus, and i drink about 6 cups of coffee a day in work. Its just as well im not expected to produce decent quality spiders webs. … I wonder would the quality of my output improve if i cut back on the coffee. …. Ummm … Food for thought.
Sitting on my bed looking in my mirror felt like little strands of my hair were itching my face when all of a sudden a huge fecker of a spider climbs over my mouth!!!!! Threw it across the room and nearly killed myself trying to get out of my bedroom at the same time!!! Didn’t see where it landed but I’m fully sure it’s waiting for revenge:(
And here I was thinking caffeine could improve performance, janey mac!
This is older than time
Now why would you want to interfere with them in the first place? Weird!
Sorry I have dabbled in my time but I hav never taken chloral hydrate or Benzedrine
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