Coronavirus: 17% of Leaving Cert grades predicted by school to be reduced

Just under 17% of Leaving Certificate grades calculated by schools will be reduced, initial data from the Irish Department of Education suggests.

The summer tests are the Republic of Ireland's equivalent of A-levels.

The process of calculating grades has not been finished but the department said trends show that national standardisation has resulted in a low number of grades being reduced.

A school's previous performance will not be taken into account.

This decision was approved by the Irish Cabinet on Tuesday.

The department argued that had there been no grade reduction the number of grade ones awarded at Higher Level would have doubled in many subjects, and tripled in some, compared to previous years.

They said while some teacher estimates had been over-optimistic, others had underestimated, and this would have led to unfairness for many students.

However it is still expected that this year's results will be significantly higher than those of previous years.

Students are due to receive their Leaving Cert results on Monday 7 September.

Irish Minister for Education Norma Foley said a breakdown of each subject would be available on results day.

The announcement comes after the controversy over A-level grading in the UK.

The UK government did a U-turn and decided to give A-level and GCSE students grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm.

It followed uproar after about 40% of A-level results were downgraded by exams regulator Ofqual, which used a formula based on schools' prior grades.

There had been fears students attending schools in disadvantaged areas could be unfairly penalised in Ireland.

However figures released by the Irish Department of Education indicated that should not be the case.

Irish government data shows that while 16.8% of grades were downgraded by national standardisation, the figure for Department of Education and Skills (DEIS) or disadvantaged schools was lower, at 13.6%.

While 3.9% of grades awarded by schools were raised by the national standardisation process, the figure is higher (5%) for DEIS schools.

Departmental officials have said while teachers are adept at rating their students using a local frame of reference, an overarching national frame of reference was needed too.

The student portal will be open from Monday 7 September and practical advice is available through gov.ie.