Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Performance in the upper secondary (Leaving Certificate) exam has real consequences for young people’s life chances, determining their access to particular institutions and courses within higher education and influencing their employment chances if they enter the labour market directly. Ireland is therefore a revealing case study of the impact of high-stakes examinations on student experiences of teaching and learning. In general, young people are found to favour more active teaching approaches that encourage them to give their own opinion. This view of good teaching contrasts with the highly teacher-led approach they experience, particularly in exam years. What is novel in the Irish findings is the way in which young people who had previously valued more active engagement become increasingly instrumentalist in their views as they approach their final exams, expressing intolerance of teachers who do not focus on what is likely to appear on the examination papers. As well as distorting teaching and learning within school, high-stakes exams strongly influence the nature of learning outside school, with long hours spent on homework and study and high take-up of private tuition and many, especially female students, experiencing high levels of stress in anticipation of the exam.