Over 67,100 candidates receive Junior Cycle results today 23 November

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) congratulates the candidates who sat the Junior Cycle examination  in 2022 and whose results issued today. Individual Statements of Provisional Examination Results have been  posted so as to arrive in schools this morning. Schools will also receive a report for the school showing the  results for each candidate. 

Any candidate unable to attend school can access their results online on www.examinations.ie from 4 pm  today. However, the online Junior Cycle results service is not intended to replace the valuable role played by  schools in providing Junior Cycle results to candidates. Access to the service requires the use of an  examination number and a unique candidate Personal Identification Number and this information has  recently issued to schools. 

Overview 

This year marks a welcome return to externally delivered Junior Cycle examinations for all candidates and the  first year in which all examinations are being delivered under the reformed Junior Cycle curriculum. In  November 2020 and 2021, Junior Cycle examinations were held for adult learners and early school leavers  only with examinations cancelled for all other candidates and replaced by school-based assessment. 

Until 2019, only English, Science and Business Studies had been examined under the reformed Junior Cycle  curriculum. Apart from Irish, English and Mathematics which are examined at Higher and Ordinary level, all  other Junior Cycle subjects are now at Common level. 

Some 594,000 grades in 21 individual subjects are being provided to 67,130 candidates this year. The overall  number sitting Junior Cycle examinations has increased by 4.4% on 2019 and the proportion of candidates  who are re-entrants to education has fallen from 0.86 % of the cohort in 2019 to 0.26% in 2022. 

Adjusted assessment arrangements were announced in the Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and  Leaving Certificate Examinations 2022 to take account of the disrupted learning experienced by candidates  during the Covid-19 pandemic. Candidates taking the Junior Cycle final examinations in 2022 were not  required to complete Assessment Tasks for relevant subjects. In subjects with a practical or coursework  component some changes were made to the timing and/or requirements of the practical or coursework  component. 

Date of Issue of Results 

The results of the 2022 Leaving Certificate issued on 2 September with the appeals issued 5 weeks later on  Friday 7 October. This year, if all of the marking had been completed in the normal timelines, the Junior Cycle  results would have been due to issue to candidates at the end of October.

Providing examinations has been a significant undertaking in the current year. The deferred Leaving  Certificate ran until 16 July 2022 for candidates who missed their examinations due to bereavement, serious  illness or Covid-19. Additional time was also needed to give effect to the commitment that the results on  aggregate would be no lower than in 2021 which was achieved through a post-marking adjustment. 

The SEC has a responsibility to examination candidates to ensure that their work is marked to the highest  standards of quality and integrity and the Commission must be able to stand over the results it issues each  year. Despite extensive and ongoing efforts, and the support of all of the education stakeholders, the  number of examiners fell short of the numbers required for the 2022 examinations. A range of  interventions was needed to complete the marking of most subjects during the summer which included  marking well beyond the normal marking window and examiners agreeing to take on additional scripts. 

However, it was not possible to complete the marking and a further contingency arrangement was necessary  in some subjects to complete the marking in recent weeks. 

The SEC is extremely grateful for the cooperation it receives from thousands of teachers each year to  undertake the critical work of marking the examinations. We are especially grateful to those who have  recently supported us in completing the Junior Cycle marking noting that many of these teachers were back  in school and gave up their evenings and weekends to this work. 

Pre-pandemic the SEC had been experiencing significant difficulties in attracting, recruiting and retaining  sufficient numbers of teachers to undertake this vital work which came into sharp focus this year. Recruitment and retention of teachers as examiners is not only an issue for the SEC, it is an urgent whole of  system issue at second level. 

Our continued objective is to substantially increase the numbers of teachers involved so that the experience  is a positive one which greatly enhances teacher professional competence as well as earning power. The SEC  will be reviewing with all of the stakeholders how best to ensure the availability of teachers in the required  numbers to complete this important examination work in 2023 and beyond. 

On a positive note, the rate increases which were introduced on a once-off basis in 2022 have now been  assured for 2023 with the assignment of an additional €11m provided on Budget Day to maintain these  increased examiners pay rates. 

Appeals 

Applications for review of Junior Cycle examination results, which must be made through the candidate’s  school, should be received by the SEC no later than 5pm on Wednesday 30 November. Applications for  appeal will be accepted only from the School Authority confirming that the examination result attained by  the candidate is significantly at variance with the result expected. Details of the process have been provided  to schools. The SEC does not accept appeal applications directly from candidates, parents or individual  teachers. 

Marking Schemes 

The official marking schemes for all subjects will be published on the SEC website, www.examinations.ie by  the end of this week. 

Certification of Achievement 

The reporting process at Junior Cycle culminates in the award of the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement  (JCPA) to students. The JCPA replaces the Junior Certificate and consequently the SEC no longer issues these  certificates. The JCPA will draw upon and report on achievement across all areas of learning including  Classroom-Based Assessments; Short Courses, Priority Learning Units and other areas of learning, as well as  the SEC examination results.

Further information will be issuing to schools from the Department of Education regarding the arrangements  for the production of the 2022 JCPA documents in schools.

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