Your bookmarked countries have an update since your last login. View Bookmarks x

US company to design Leaving Cert accredited grades system

September 08, 2021

Original Article: https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2021/0330/1206910-leaving-cert-accredited-grades/

A US company has been awarded a contract to provide coding and psychometric expertise in the delivery of this year's accredited grades to Leaving Certificate students. 

According to the Department of Education the company - Educational Testing Services - is a world leading US-based non-profit organisation that specialises in educational measurement.

Last year, the department contracted ETS to undertake a review of coding for the 2020 Calculated Grades model. This followed the discovery of a number of errors in the original process. 

The Leaving Certificate examinations and accredited grades process will be conducted by the State Examinations Commission, and legislation is currently being developed to enable this. 

The latest contract with ETS comes as the result of a procurement process.

In a statement, a department spokesperson said the detailed design of the accredited grades model would be informed by expert advice, including external statistical, coding and psychometric expertise.

It said the procurement process had been carried out by the department to acquire necessary coding and psychometric expertise in order to ensure confidentiality, reliability and timely refinement of the standardisation model to be used.

The spokesperson said that due to the sensitivity and urgency of the process the tender documents were not being published.

He said ETS would work with the Department of Education and the State Examinations Commission to deliver the various elements of the standardisation model, and the implementation of the standardisation process.

Related Articles:


BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION. JOIN THE AACRAO EXCHANGE. JOIN NOW

Upcoming AACRAO Events

On-Demand Learning

Self-Paced | Online

Self-paced courses aligned with our competency and proficiency framework, AACRAO's on-demand training will build your skills and enhance your resume. 

Courses in:

  • Compliance
  • FERPA
  • International
  • and more

Learn More

SEM_2020_1440x400 update

The International Institute

The AACRAO International Institute covers promising practices for the evaluation of international credentials that combines AACRAO’s On-Demand International Series with five, two-hour, virtual instructor-led training sessions.

Learn More
AACRAO International Institute Banner