The Leaving Certificate exams for the last few years have been a bit different than usual (as with almost everything in the world at the time!) and while a lot of the 2023 exams will be back to normal, there are still some adjustments after being announced by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) for those sitting certain subjects.
A lot of the adjustments remain the same as those made for the 2022 Leaving Cert cohort; as it stands these are the only adjustments for those of you completing their exams next June and we have to assume there will not be any further changes to the papers.
The SEC has tried to acknowledge that you all have had a disrupted learning experience and this will have affected your learning in different ways. They aim for the adjustments to leave the familiar overall structure of the examinations but allow for any struggles with learning by expecting fewer questions to be answered or giving more choices. In some cases, the measures will provide more time for exam preparation, such as adjustments to some of the practical subjects/elements, for example.
Use this information on the adjustments to plan your studying – make sure you are not studying for anything you do not need to be covering, and when practicing question length and timing take any of these changes into account too.
So, what has been changed or adjusted for Leaving Certificate 2023 ?
Starting with English, both levels have some adjustments, but only to Paper Two. Paper One is back to answering all sections.
· Higher Level (HL) - Paper Two
You must answer a question on Shakespeare (either single text or comparative).
All three of the comparative modes will be on the paper and students will answer on one.
One extra poet will be included as an option, therefore students will have a choice of answering one out of five poetry questions.
§ Ordinary Level (OL) – Paper Two
§ There is no compulsory question to answer for the single text.
§ Q1 and Q2 on the single text section will be combined to make one 3-part question instead.
§ Q 3 in this section will be divided into three separate questions worth 30 marks.
§ All three of the comparative modes will be on the paper and students will answer on one.
§ Students will have two extra poems to choose from in the prescribed poetry section (one extra from the list common to HL poetry and one extra from the alternate list)
Irish also see some adjustments at both levels (Paper One has no changes for HL or OL) for both the written and oral elements.
· Higher Level and Ordinary Level – Oral Exam
§ Students will be allowed to select 10 Sraith Pictiúr instead of 20. Any 10 can be picked and they can be individual to each student – classmates do not have to study the same ones.
· Higher Level - Paper Two
§ Students have to complete both reading comprehensions
§ Students will have a choice of doing 1 of the 2 poems that will appear in the poetry section.
§ Students will have a choice of doing 1 of the 2 stories that will appear in the prose section.
· Ordinary level – Paper Two
§ Students have to complete both reading comprehensions
§ Students will have a choice of doing 2 of the 3 poems that will appear in the poetry section.
· Students will have a choice of doing 2 of the 3 stories that will appear in the prose section.
Maths is the other subject that will affect the majority of students. Handily, both subjects have the same adjustments. Some are to do with question choice, and others will the potential question information.
· Higher level and Ordinary Level.
Section A (Concept and Skills)
Students will have a choice of doing 5 questions out of 6 with each question worth 30 marks. Material and question length is expected to be the same as always for this section.
Section B (Contexts and Applications)
Students will have a choice of 3 questions out of 4, with each question worth 50 marks, and potentially less material to be covered in each question.
A range of subjects will have some adjustments this year (though maybe not as many as last year), but these three are the ones affecting the most students who will be sitting their exams in 2023.
If you are unsure whether your other subjects have adjustments – and what they are – then you can find that out here