SEC Defends «Brutal» Higher Level Maths Paper Amid Student Anxiety and Pandemic Impact

A mother expressed concern over last week's Higher Level Maths Paper 1, describing it as «brutal» and causing significant distress to her daughter, a Leaving Certificate student. This outcry over perceived unfair difficulty in Higher Level Maths papers is a recurring issue.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) maintains consistent grading standards annually through a complex standard-setting system. This system, which includes refining marking schemes based on feedback, ensures fairness across different years, preventing students from gaining an advantage due to varying paper difficulty. The SEC also aims to keep results consistent year-on-year, though the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic complicates this.

The pandemic has significantly affected students, particularly the Class of 2026, who experienced school closures and remote learning. The SEC acknowledges the pandemic's ongoing impact on examinations and assessment arrangements since 2020, noting its influence on candidate behavior and results. To mitigate this, the government continues to add additional marks to Leaving Certificate scores via a post-marking adjustment.

The mother highlighted her daughter's internal pressure as a perfectionist aiming for a high-points third-level course, stating the difficult paper caused her to «eff up other questions.» The SEC defended the paper, stating it was reviewed by subject experts and university representatives for suitability, clarity, and demand. The intense pressure experienced by some students, driven by the competitive points system for limited university places in fields like medicine and veterinary, points to a systemic problem that needs addressing. New courses are hoped to alleviate some pressure in veterinary.