Editing Leaving Certificate (Ireland) (section)

==Grading==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2021}}

===Leaving Certificate===
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Percentage || rowspan=2| Grade || colspan=3 | CAO Points awarded
|-
| style="background:#ffd1dc;"| '''Higher''' || style="background:lightblue;"| '''Ordinary''' || style="background:#7fff00;"| '''Foundation''' 
|-
|90–100%||H1 / O1 / F1||100||56||20
|-
|80–89%||H2 / O2 / F2||88||46||12
|-
|70–79%||H3 / O3 / F3||77||37||0
|-
|60–69%||H4 / O4 / F4||66||28||0
|-
|50–59%||H5 / O5 / F5||56||20||0
|-
|40–49%||H6 / O6 / F6||46||12||0
|-
|30–39%||H7 / O7 / F7||37||0||0
|-
|0–29%||H8 / O8 / F8||0||0||0
|}
Each subject is examined at one of three levels, ''Higher Level'' (informally called ''Honours''), ''Ordinary Level'' (informally ''Pass''), or ''Foundation Level''. Foundation Level may only be taken in two subjects: Irish and Mathematics. All other subjects may be taken at either Ordinary or Higher Level. At each level, a percentage is assigned and translated to eight possible grades. These are usually written H1-H8, O1-O8 and F1-F8.

There have been proposals to impose a normal distribution on Leaving Certificate Examination scores, however, this ignores quantification problems and issues such as an A in one subject like Mathematics reflects greater attainment than an A in another subject.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mac Aogain |first1=Eoghan |last2=Millar |first2=David |last3=Kellaghan |first3=Thomas |date=2011 |title=Transparency and Discriminatory Power of the Leaving Certificate |jstor=41548685 |journal=The Irish Journal of Education |volume=39 |pages=74–87}}</ref>

Admission to universities and colleges is by a points system, run by the [[Central Applications Office]] (CAO). The points allocations shown in the accompanying table have been collectively agreed by the third-level institutions involved in the CAO scheme, and relativities that they imply have no official standing in the eyes of the State Examinations Commission or the Department of Education. The points awarded for a given percentage range are given in the table.<ref name=":2">[https://www.cao.ie/index.php?page=scoring&s=lcepointsgrid Irish Leaving Certificate Examination Points Calculation Grid] Central Applications Office, 2021.</ref> Note that points for foundation level are only awarded for Mathematics, and only then by some institutions. A bonus for higher level Mathematics is part of the currently agreed system.

'''Mathematics bonus points'''
Since 2012, a pass (minimum H6, originally D3) in higher level Mathematics is awarded 25 bonus points, making it possible to earn 125 points in this subject.<ref name="2012mathsbonus">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/life/family/learning/only-3000-benefit-from-maths-bonus-points-in-cao-offers-26888896.html |title=Only 3000 benefit from maths bonus points in CAO offers |work=Independent.ie |date=20 August 2012 |access-date=3 January 2015 |last=Stack |first=Sarah}}</ref> Twenty-five bonus points are awarded for higher level Mathematics for H6 grades and above. For example, if an applicant receives an H6 grade, an additional 25 points will be added to the 46 points already awarded, i.e. higher level Mathematics now carries a score of 71 points. This also means that, provided they pass, the minimum number of points a student can receive is 71, which is 15 points greater than an O1 at Ordinary Level.

===Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme===
The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme allows students to take ''link modules'', which have their own grading scheme and associated CAO points.

{| class="wikitable float right"
|'''LCVP Grade''' || '''Percentage range''' || '''CAO Points awarded'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.cao.ie/app_scoring/lcegrid.htm |title=Irish Leaving Certificate Examination Points Calculation Grid |access-date=28 June 2007 |work=Central Applications Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527160040/http://www2.cao.ie/app_scoring/lcegrid.htm |archive-date=27 May 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> || '''Equivalent'''
|-
|''Gradam'' / Distinction (GD)||80 – 100 ||  66 || H4
|-
|''Fiúntas'' / Merit (FM)|| 65 – 79 || 46 ||H6 or O2
|-
|''Pas'' / Pass (PP)||50 – 64 ||  28 ||O4
|}

===Predicted grades===
In 2020, the Leaving Certificate was cancelled, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland|COVID-19 pandemic]]. This marked the first official cancellation in its existence. Leaving Certificate students were then given the choice of having teachers predict their own students' grades, which would then be nationally standardised. If students were not happy with their predicted grades, however, they could appeal their results and choose to sit a traditional exam in November 2020. The results would not be available in time for the 2020 academic year. In 2021, for each subject, candidates were given a choice to sit the Leaving Certificate examinations, take an Accredited Grade or opt for the better of the two.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.examinations.ie/misc-doc/EN-CA-9809541.pdf |title=Leaving Certificate Candidate Information Guide 2021 |publisher=State Examinations Commission |date=June 6, 2021 |website=www.examinations.ie |access-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-date=9 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609180355/https://www.examinations.ie/misc-doc/EN-CA-9809541.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The examinations were extended over a 15-day period, instead of the usual 13 day period. The Accredited Grades are based on school-estimated marks and a standardisation process.