Personal statements and references from teachers I’m not so sure about, this will just turn into a copy and paste exercise for teachers. An an admissions interview for certain courses would be a very good idea, not everyone has the personality for the career they want to do.The personal statements and references is Trinity College way of passing the work to the Secondary school as they don’t want to get bogged down in interviews. An admissions interview is the only real way forward.

Out in the working world this is how it works, CV (Points) and job interview (admission interview). You need to be good in both to get the job.

The universities need to step up to the plate and implement this system.

when you take into account that nearly half of firstyear students drop out in some universites, their reason often is that the course isnt what they expected.An admissions interview might send some of these students to actually research what theyre applying for.

If the system was fair and transparent then it would be a great. There are often students just a number of points short who would be well suited to a course and this could open avenues.

I Always felt a system based on weighted points for subjects that are directly linked to the desired courses should be Brought in, and that a practical assessment test worth 20-30% in the introduction to a course would be more beneficial. Eg, for business courses, a practical test on suitability and weighted scores for subjects like economics, accounting and business. for Law or journalism again a practical and suitability test worth 20% of the overall mark and weighted scores for english and languages. For an arts course then…….well thats anyones ball game ;) High points doesnt necessarily mean common sense.

While Ireland is not the only country with this issue we need to start thinking outside the box. Children’s futures are determined in school by how much information they can store and repeat in an exam. Children aren’t supposed to be filing cabinets

The problem with this system is that it stifles creativity. It stifles risk taking. Children are punished with getting something ‘wrong’ by having it associated with being ‘bad’. After 12 years of having this hammered into us in primary and secondary education, it’s bound to have an effect on us as adults, a fear of failure somewhat.

Look at some of the most successful business people in the world. They will all say they had a number of failures before they had a success. Clearly this risk taking attitude is not something they learned in the classroom

Schooling should focus on more than just teaching children to remember information. It should also develop children’s creativity and emotional intelligence.

I have voted “Yes” to this proposal but only in an ideal world. With all it’s faults, the points system is the great leveller. Sure, kids from more affluent homes have the benefit of grinds etc but in the end all candidates must sit the same exam.
If any other criteria were to be taken into account for college entry then the good ole’ Irish “dirty pull” would rear it’s ugly head. Connections and “who you know” would dictate who got into what college. It’s just the way things are done here in every walk of life…. merit counts for very little… except in the Leaving Certificate exam!

References from teachers are defiantly sketchy not to mention subjective. Once personal opinion, interviews and references are introduced people will then claim they were “robbed” of a place by a system that is based on subjectivity and not results.

The LC exams and what you are taught in them is the main issue and the reason there can be a high drop out rate not the CAO system. So I’d say look at changing the LC before changing the CAO.

Voted “Not Sure” because I think an interview process is open to abuse and manipulation far more than the current points system. Of course the Leaving Certificate course needs to be revised as well so that its not all juyt about rote learning. But I do think some form of suitability testing could be added so that students are guided towards courses that they are more likely to succeed in.

I think it would be far better to take the process back a stage. Students have to make decisions at aged 15-16 as to what they think they want to do in college. Often they find that when they start on the course they have chosen it isn’t what they want or are interested in. Maybe transition year could be used to assess students outside of the academic system with things like aptitude testing, personality testing and some form of exposure to college courses so that they are making a more informed decision as to their career path.

The points system may well have created a level playing field – up until this year that is! I think the move to introduce an extra 25 points for those taking HL maths was a typical knee-jerk reaction by Comrade Quinn & Co. and typifies the short-sightedness of the powers-that-be in this country. 25 points is a full five grade enhancement to the overall result for anyone who was brave enough to take on the Higher level maths exam. Fair enough, it demands a huge amount of time and effort, but so do other subjects such as chemistry, biology etc etc., not to mention other subjects such as music (which has 50% weighting on a practical/performance element). So, if we decide the country needs more musicians, or linguists, will these subjects also get an extra 25 points in the future. I would propose that if the State put it’s money where it’s mouth is, and offered a waiver of registration fees for those who scored above a certain grade in HL maths, it would at least have maintained the integrity of the Leaving Certificate, and adhered to the ‘level playing field’ concept which we have been led to believe the points system to be. I am afraid that 2012 leaving Cert. will be the year that raises the question ‘ But how many points did you REALLY get?’ .

The points system is a measure of how well a student does in the set of exams they take.

The limitations are that the exams have a heavy lean on rote learning and students’ abilities and talents extend beyond what is assessed.

If we want to allow deserving people into college courses then secondary school should offer an experience that prepares for life beyond second level education (whether that be college or not). In reality, it’s not just down to the points system, it’s about what is assessed and how it’s assessed. A truly valuable assessment system is what is needed more than anything (IMO).

The benefit of the points system is that it’s transparent – if the student doesn’t hit the required grades, they can’t access the desired course. There are many situations where this feels unfair (esp where someone is just a few points short of a course). Unfortunately, with any admissions interview system, this transparency could disappear, as influence could come into play (perhaps it wouldn’t, but there is nothing preventing it from doing so. And Ireland’s track record is such that if nothing prevents undue influence being exerted, then it will be).

However, the downside is it doesn’t take into account a range of factors that might affect a student’s grades. Furthermore, the way the examination system is set up, students are encouraged to cram, rather than understand to achieve maximum points for their efforts. The strategies for success encouraged by the Leaving Cert (and Points system) rarely work in a university setting.

They should attempt a reform, whereby points can be awarded for more than achieving grades (e.g. continuous work, effort, any extracurricular activity that a university might deem to be worthwhile, interviews, etc.).

That way, we could be more sure that a student is accessing a course because they have achieved all the requirements (rather than just “got loads of good grades), are suitable for the course and can put in the effort, while maintaining the transparency of a “points” system. Should interviews take too much precedence, we would soon see a Journal.ie poll asking “Do children from private schools have an unfair advantage when it comes to accessing university courses?”

sur it wouldnt matter anyway, yous colleges have never bin fair to us dublin lads anyway sur, so why start lik, ye ye ye always da studenst getting looked after lik. too much moneys been spent on education stuff to begin with lik.

Candidates should be produced to match the prevailing economic conditions

The points system as it is is open to manipulation