Open letter: the new Leaving Certificate maths specification could destroy Irish maths education.

The Government must withdraw the proposed specification immediately, and start the process afresh, with mathematical experts centre-stage in the decision-making process.

Under the proposals, 40% of students’ Leaving Cert maths marks would come from a subjective, gameable, non-mathematical assessment of their performance at a one-day ‘event’. This alone would completely destroy the rigour and reputation of the qualification.

The draft specification also guts the content of Leaving Cert maths. Statistics will not be examined; complex numbers and geometric proofs will not be taught at all. The topics that remain have been dumbed down to the point of absurdity. Where today students are taught to solve open-ended problems, they will instead be asked merely to double-check answers given to them by examiners.

Two expert members of the subject-matter committee have already resigned, refusing to stand over the draft specification, and alleging serious problems with the process followed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. Potentially-critical consultation responses were kept secret, documents were not circulated, and experts’ discussions and decisions were not recorded.

The Government must take action:

1. The published draft specification must not be progressed. The documents must be withdrawn from consultation.
2. The rule that 40% of marks will come from non-exam assessment must be lifted for maths. This was a blanket political commitment made for all subjects, before any consultation with mathematical experts; it does not make sense for maths.
3. A new mathematics subject group should be set up under s. 30(3)(b) of the Education Act 1998, made up of expert mathematicians and entirely independent of the NCCA, with direct input into the new draft specification.

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