On 2 September 2022, Minister for Education Norma Foley announced that adjustments will be made to the assessment arrangements for students due to sit State examinations in 2023, to take account of the disruption to their learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full press release here.

A document detailing the adjusted assessment arrangements for the Leaving Certificate Established, Leaving Certificate Applied, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and Junior Cycle programmes has issued to schools and can also be found here. Schools have been asked to ensure that all students are made aware of these changes.

The level of adjustment will be the same as that announced in August 2021 but updated as relevant. These adjustments will play to student strengths by leaving intact the familiar overall structure of the examinations, while incorporating additional choice for students in the examinations. In some cases, the adjustment measures will provide more time for tuition by, for example, reducing preparatory work for practical examinations.

They provide clarity, certainty and reassurance to students, their parents/guardians, teachers and schools at the start of the 2022/2023 school year.

These adjustments were arrived at through discussions between the Department of Education, the State Examinations Commission and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and key stakeholders.

The changes will be made with due regard for the principles of equity, fairness and integrity, in relation to student-to-student, subject-to-subject, and year-to-year comparisons.

Leaving Certificate or Junior Certificate students with queries on the above document should address these in the first instance to the relevant teacher.

Assessment Arrangements for Leaving and Junior Certificate 2023