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Student campaign for Junior Cert English exam extension


Posted by SchoolDays Newshound, on 16/03/2017. Student campaign for Junior Cert English exam extensionTags: Parenting Teachers


Junior Cert student, Tara O’Sullivan has started an online campaign to have the Junior Certificate English examination extended by thirty additional minutes.

According to Tara’s online campaign page, while she and many of her peers feel that the questions on the mock examinations were fair, all agreed that the timing was ‘ridiculous’. Tara says that “lots of students who faced this exam did not finish the paper and those who did had no time to assess and adjust their answers before having to hand up the paper. “ The exam is currently of two hours duration but is now based on the new curriculum.

The campaign which is posted on change.org is gaining a lot of support and has over 9,000 signatures


Comments

Jackie Buckley

(16/03/2017 18:18)


Additional 30 minutes are essential in order to complete the exam and check your work upon completion.

Pamela

(16/03/2017 21:21)


As an English teacher I fully support this campaign. The paper is much too long for a 2 hour exam and impossible to complete for most students. This is not promoting the new course at all.

Debbie

(17/03/2017 14:23)


My daughter was absolutely shocked how long the English paper was given they only had two hours, something has to be done for the Proper Junior Cert in June as it stands it would be impossible for the students to complete properly, it has been difficult enough for this years students given the new syllabus and all the ongoing problems very unfair on students, a disgrace!

Rohna Battle

(17/03/2017 21:34)


I also think the new papers time scale of two hours is ridiculous. If they want top grades from our students then they should be given ample time to answer all the questions.

Allie

(18/03/2017 13:02)


I would like to add my voice to this campaign. The time allocation is unrealistic for this exam. The quality of responses will suffer. It has become a speed test rather than a test of thoughtful, considered and structured answers. Teachers will resort to emphasising buzz words and key phrases instead of clear, ordered articulate answers. This is not education - it is even more teaching for exams , the very reason the Junior Cert English syllabus was revised.

Michelle

(18/03/2017 18:53)


Very unfair on both students and teachers who have worked so hard....timeline needs to be extended.

Sandra

(19/03/2017 14:19)


The time needs to be increased even to an hour the old format had 4.5/5 hours between two papers and 27 pages approx now only 2 hours - give the children a fair chance - and thereshoukd be no need for comments such as "more detail" and "expand your answer" . Def 2.5 if even 3. Well done children for standing up for yourselves

Kerry Harvey

(31/01/2018 16:38)


My daughter has just come out from her Mock junior cert higher paper.
She did not complete it..... not due to lack of knowledge... a lot of her friends were in the same situation.
If history is 2.5 hrs long - why can’t they offer the same to English . You have to write far more for English compared to science .... can we start this petition again please

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