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Explainer: What the Leaving Cert Calculated Grade errors mean for students

Around 6,500 students will now receive higher grades as a result.

IT EMERGED EARLIER today that two errors were found in the code responsible for calculating the grades of this year’s Leaving Cert students.

The errors are estimated to have impacted the grades of approximately 6,500 students.

Education Minister Norma Foley said that those who received a higher grade “will not be affected in any way” and that those who were marked down “will have their proper grade restored”. 

What happened?

This afternoon, Taoiseach Michéal Martin told the Dáil that two errors were identified in the Calculated Grades system. Students received their grades on 7 September. 

At 4pm, Minister Norma Foley made a formal announcement and said she was informed of the first error last Wednesday. 

She said that 7,200 Leaving Cert grades have been affected by the two errors found in the same part of the coding used to implement the standardisation process. 

The first error was in one line of code programmed by private company Polymetrika. It affected the way in which student’s Junior Cycle grades were included in the calculation. 

It showed that instead of including Junior Cycle English, Irish, maths and the student’s two best subjects in the calculation, the three core subjects and the student’s two weakest subjects were instead counted. 

When the department examined this error, it spotted a second issue contained in the same section of code programmed by Polymetrika. 

This error showed that the Junior Cycle results for Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE), supposed to be discounted in the grading system, were instead included in the calculation. 

As a result, some students received a higher grade than they should have, while others received a lower grade.

Those who received a higher grade “will not be affected in any way” and those who were marked down “will have their proper grade restored”, Minister Foley said.  

The process is still ongoing so it is not fully know how many students will receive higher grades, however Foley said it is likely to be around 6,500. 

NO FEE MIN FOLEY GOV BUILDINGS JB2 File image of Education Minister Norma Foley.

What happens next?

The coding errors have been corrected and re-run through the model. 

ETS Educational Testing Service has been hired by the department to review relevant aspects of the coding. This is expected to take a number of days.

Once this is completed the department will contact all students to advise them that they will receive a higher grade or grades, or to inform them that they have not been impacted by the error.

Will students receive new CAO offers if their points increase? 

The department will send a corrected file of student results to the CAO so it can work with higher education institutions to determine if a student is due a new offer. The department has said “everything possible” will be done to facilitate their admission.

Any student who would have been entitled to a different offer will receive this offer or a deferred offer as soon as practicable after the updating of results.

The department has said this is in line with the practice that occurs in the appeals process every year.

Minister Foley said it is hoped that, similar to the usual appeals process, the majority of new CAO offers can be taken up in this academic year, though some may have to be taken up next year.

“Last year there were 17,000 appeals, of which 6,000 upgrades were received. And of that 6,000 upgrades, 300 CAO higher preference offers were made,” she said.

And all of those higher preference offers were made within the academic year bar three. I would be hopeful and we will certainly do all in our power to ensure that, if at all possible, we could reach that level of achievement this year as well.

The department has put in place a dedicated helpline and email address to answer queries from students. The helpline number is 01 8892199 and the email address is LC2020@education.gov.ie . 

The helpline will be open today until 7pm today and tomorrow from 10am-5pm. 

When the results are published on the portal detailed information on this process will be available for students on gov.ie/LeavingCertificate.

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    Mute Stephen Devlin
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    May 13th 2016, 10:47 PM

    Probably has 6000 previous convictions .. QUICK .. Someone hand him a 2 year suspended sentence

    221
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    Mute Assel Dannourah
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    May 14th 2016, 7:33 AM

    manslaughter conviction looming

    23
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    Mute screanire
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    May 13th 2016, 11:56 PM

    It’s got to such a ridiculous situation at this stage that I’m actually (in a weird way), rooting for the Hutch faction. I’d prefer if the Gardai started with the vile Kinahan ‘gang’ first. Once they are locked up, lock up the Hutch associates then.

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    May 14th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Yea and Gerry the formal criminal Hutch too.

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    Mute Seamus McSpud
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    May 14th 2016, 7:19 AM

    I say a mass celebrity death match out of the way in some warehouse in Dublin.

    18
    See 1 more reply ▾
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    Mute Seamus McSpud
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    May 14th 2016, 7:24 AM

    These 2 gangsters were on the front page of every newspaper a few weeks back and only now are arrested … I can only assume they have been in a rat hole somewhere because they haven’t been shot already.
    As I write I’m concluding he probably handed himself in as it’s hard to imagine the guards find him before the hutches

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    Mute Cal McLaughlin
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    May 13th 2016, 10:36 PM

    Great news.
    Important news.
    Hopefully this breakthrough will crack the case open and the people who organised the shootings will be brought to justice.

    66
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    Mute Neil79
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    May 14th 2016, 12:10 AM

    Well done to the boys in blue

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    Mute Ian Phillip Creaner
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    May 13th 2016, 10:45 PM

    Da fugh was dat?

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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    May 14th 2016, 12:39 AM

    Alan Kelly is the reason we should abandon politics.

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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    May 14th 2016, 12:44 AM

    Ah I’m only joking, but how do you stop megalomaniacs from coming to power, or are you supposed to just roll with it.

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    Mute paddy
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    May 13th 2016, 10:40 PM

    Wombs of the world untie!

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    Mute Dj
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    May 13th 2016, 10:37 PM

    Two of them might as well been doing a wedding shoot.

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    Mute Wesley Preston
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    May 14th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Loads of commotion on the N32 this evening. Thought it was another shooting

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    Mute Robbie Holland
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    May 14th 2016, 1:48 PM

    Seen that myself loads of Garda surrounded at the side of the road, looked very dodgy.

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    Mute David Conroy
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    May 14th 2016, 3:19 PM

    There were about 14 armed Gardai and they carried out the arrest with precision timing. If the bad guys had have produced a bicycle pump it would have saved the State a fortune ! Job well done !

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    Mute Meehawwl O'Buachailla
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    May 14th 2016, 12:16 AM

    I wonder was it the cross-dresser?

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    Mute Dave
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    May 14th 2016, 12:21 AM

    Yes. It’s the guy who started all this.

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    Mute paddy
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    May 13th 2016, 10:37 PM

    Yeah right

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    Mute Dubabroad
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    May 13th 2016, 10:51 PM

    +234 area code.. Not dodgy at all, must be legit

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    Mute meerkat
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    May 13th 2016, 11:25 PM

    Probably got a shot on winning streak

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    Mute Dave
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    May 13th 2016, 11:45 PM

    Tough luck Patrick.

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    Mute Bill Board
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    May 14th 2016, 9:08 PM

    Young Patrick hutch arrested his brother is the deceased brother Gary “2 KNOWN POLICE INFORMERS” + there father so 3!!! The other arrested was aka MAGO gatley a man who could not leave the hutch faction because they knew he had police informed for previous years and they were going to expose them as a known police informer!!!! Time for the old hutch to get onto there HANDLERS to get the lads out of this

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    Mute james mc donagh
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    May 14th 2016, 11:32 AM

    Great news. Take everyone of those rats off the street,, either in cuffs or a bag…

    5
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