Junior Cycle

Junior Cycle () is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the Department of Education and Skills, the State Examinations Commission and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

The new specifications and curriculum reforms will eventually replace the Junior Certificate (first introduced in 1992). The new Specifications (formally curriculum) have been introduced on a gradual phased basis since 2014. The Junior Cycle Student Award is issued to students who have successfully completed their post-primary education and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cycle Assessments and Examinations.

History

The Government of Ireland decided to review the post-primary curriculum due to changes in national and international teaching and learning strategies and policies. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s the Department of Education & Skills produced research and studies on what changes needed to be made to education in Ireland. 
In 2011, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) published reports proposing a major reform of the Junior Cycle following consultations with stakeholders, and amid concern over the heavy emphasis on “teaching to the test” in secondary schools. However, by October 2012 Teachers Unions and educationalists criticised the proposal by former Minister for Education & Skills Ruairi Quinn TD to abolish state exams in the Junior Cycle and 100 percent assessment by teachers. 
After much delay and changes made to the framework by April 2014, teacher unions began industrial action, starting with the policy of non-cooperation with planning measures due to concerns in relation to impartially around correcting students assessments.  
By 2015; the finalized report 'Framework for Junior Cycle' was circulated by the Department of Education & Skills issued by the former Minister for Education Jan O' Sullivan, TD. Education reform at post-primary was largely supported by all Government parties, despite political changes in government over the years; the largest political parties Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour continued to promote the framework issued by the NCCA. The 'Framework for Junior Cycle' provided a timeline of when the changes would occur over a gradual basis. 
In 2017; English became the first subject to be issued with the new grading system.

Framework
The NCCA issued a new language and policy around post-primary education in Ireland. Each subject curriculum will be replaced by 'specifications' supported by Key Skills (6 in total) and  24 Statements of Learning. 

All subjects incorporate all six key skills, however, most subjects only incorporate some of the Statements of Learning. The new framework issued by the NCCA proposed the development of Short Courses; the NCCA has issued specifications for some Short Courses however, schools have the opportunity to create their own short courses that are relevant to their school community. 

Built into the specifications and short courses is a re-emphasis on literacy and numeracy. Student-centred learning is to the fore in these specifications along with in-class assessments and written examinations. 

Changes have been made to subject levels; under the Junior Certificate Examinations framework there were three levels, Higher, Ordinary and Foundation. Under the framework for Junior Cycle reforms only Irish, Maths and English will have two levels (Higher & Ordinary) all other subjects will have one 'common level'. 

Students must study up to 10 subjects (under the previous Junior Certificate there was no limit). Only three subjects are mandatory.

Mandatory subjects

Irish/Gaelige (Higher or Ordinary)† 
English (Higher or Ordinary) 
Maths (Higher or Ordinary) 
Wellbeing (Common Level) ≈

† An exemption from taking Irish may be awarded in some cases, for students with a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia or Autism Spectrum Disorder, or those who did not attend school in the country before their twelfth birthday. 
≈ A new compulsory field of learning “Wellbeing” will be introduced, incorporating Physical Education; Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), including relationships and sexuality; and Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE).

Common level subjects

All subjects are common level. New specifications will be introduced for some subjects from August 2018 or at a later date. 
 
Art Craft Design 
Business Studies
Classics† 
French
Geography
German 
History
Home Economics
Italian
Jewish Studies
Materials Technology (Wood)
Metalwork 
Music
Religious Education
Science
Spanish
Technical Graphics
Technology
Wellbeing 

† The junior cycle subjects Latin, Greek, and Classical Studies were reviewed in 2010. A decision was taken to merge them into a single subject called Classics. This new subject will be included in the new junior cycle.

Short Courses

The NCCA circulated specifications for 'Short Courses'. Students will be introduced to a variety of subjects which are linked to the statements of learning and are designed for approximately 100 hours of student engagement. 9 Short Courses have been introduced however, schools have the opportunity to develop their own Short Courses which reflect their school community as long as they fit into the framework for Junior Cycle. Students have the opportunity to take up to 4 short courses and substitute these for more long-form non-mandatory subjects. 
 
Civic, Social and Political Education	
Social, Personal and Health Education	
Physical Education
Coding	
A Personal Project: Caring for Animals	
Exploring Forensic Science
Digital Media Literacy	
Chinese Language and Culture	
Artistic Performance
Philosophy

Assessment and examinations
On completion, each student will be issued with the Junior Cycle Student Award.  For every subject, students will engage with two structured classroom-based assessments, one each in second and third year. A written assessment task supervised by teachers in class will be completed in third year and marked by the State Examinations Commission. Written exams at the end of third year are shorter - no longer than two hours. A Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) will be issued to students by their schools; this will record learning arising from short courses; classroom assessments and the results of state exams.

Most subjects will have up to two in-class assessments and subjects such as Geography, Science and History will have a project to complete. The final examination takes place after three years of the course, in early June. The exams always start with English, then the other core subjects and finish with the subjects that have the fewest candidates. Most exam papers were between 2.5 hours and 3 hours however under the new system examinations will be no longer than 2 hours long. The majority of subjects will be common level with exception to Irish, English and Maths.

Irish

In the Junior Certificate candidates have the option of answering either in Irish(only if they have been in the Irish stream) or in English, except in the case of the subjects Irish and English and questions in other language subjects. Certain subjects and components are not available for bonus marks, marks awarded also vary depending on the written nature of the subject.

Exemptions

Students who face disadvantages (e.g. suffer spelling problems caused by dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, or other disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD) can not be penalised for bad spellings in exams such as English and Irish. These candidates will then be marked easier on all topics (e.g. if a student has a spelling problem in English he/she will be marked out of 50 for their mechanics).

Junior Cycle grading 

In 2017, English got a new grading system, as part of the new Junior Cycle. This is being introduced into other subjects with examination in Science and Business Studies starting in 2019. 
The grading is as follows:
 90 to 100% = Distinction
 75 to 89% = Higher Merit
 55 to 74% = Merit
 40 to 54% = Achieved
 20 to 39% = Partially Achieved
 0 to 19% = Not Graded/NG

After the exam

Results
It is not possible to fail Junior Cycle overall: all students continue to their next year of education no matter what their results, but most schools will not permit a student to take a Leaving Cert subject at Higher Level if they did not receive at least a Merit grade at Junior Cycle. The Junior Cycle (and more so, the Leaving Certificate) results take centre place in the Irish media during the week surrounding their release. National and local newspapers publish various statistics about the exam and cover high achievers.

Appealing grades
If a student is unhappy with a grade they received on any of the exam results, they may appeal the decision made by the SEC. They need to pay a fee (in 2010 the fee was set at €32 per exam) and the principal of the school writes a letter of appeal application to the State Examinations Commission, stating the candidate's name, exam number and the exam they would like to appeal. There is a deadline to appeal, usually 14–21 days after the results are published, in which the student's application must be made. The appeal results are usually handed out mid-November. The grade that is received this time is final, and no more appeals can be made. If the candidate's grade did not change, no further action will be taken. However, if a change did occur, then the candidate will be refunded the appeal fee via a Cheque made out to the principal of the school. These refunds take time to be issued, but in an appeal made in September of one year, the refund was issued as late as March in the following year.

Drop-outs
Although school attendance in Ireland is very high, some students drop out of the education system after completion of the Junior Certificate. Those who stay in the education system sit the Leaving Certificate – the requirement for college entry in Ireland. A new type of Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Applied has been designed to discourage people from dropping out. This is all practical work and students may work after school or do an apprenticeship, respectively.

The vast majority of students continue from lower level to senior level, with only 12.3% leaving after the Junior Certificate. This is lower than the EU average of 15.2%.

Transition year

Transition Year (TY) () is an optional one-year programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Certificate in Ireland and is intended to make the senior cycle a three-year programme encompassing both Transition Year and Leaving Certificate. The idea of such a year is strange in other countries, as they don't have the same year. Transition Year was created as a result of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress which called for a six-year cycle of post-primary education.

See also 
Education in the Republic of Ireland
Irish Leaving Certificate

References

External links
 State Examinations Commission
 2016 Junior Cert Exam Timetable

Category:Secondary education in Ireland
Category:Secondary school qualifications