The Central Applications Office (CAO) system for college entry should be reviewed to ensure it is fit for purpose in light of extensive Leaving Cert reform and a growing number of alternative study pathways, a Department of Education report has recommended.
The comments are contained in a report for Minister for Education Norma Foley by a board she appointed to review progress on the redevelopment of the senior cycle at second level.
The Leaving Cert is about to undergo some of the biggest reforms since in its 100-year history with plans to award a minimum of 40 per cent of marks for projects across all subjects for practicals, demonstrations and research projects.
In addition, the number of study pathways following the Leaving Cert is growing with the expansion of new tertiary degrees – which do not require CAO points – apprenticeships and other routes into further and higher education.
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The Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board report says the expansion of these pathways could assist with redevelopment of the Leaving Cert and help create a system where there is greater parity of esteem between higher and further education options.
“Consideration might be given to the feasibility of integrating the NTO [National Tertiary Office] and apprenticeship application systems with the CAO into a single common system of application to higher and further education,” the report says.
“The board believes that there may be merit in reviewing the operation, impacts and fitness for purpose of the CAO system in light of the extensive changes being made at senior cycle and the fact that the last major review of the CAO took place a decade ago. The board suggest that the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation consider this matter further.”
The dominance of the CAO system has been the subject of wider criticism on the basis that pressure linked to the so-called points race is resulting in too much teaching to the test at school.
About 70 per cent of school leavers progress to college after the Leaving Cert, the highest rate in Europe. By contrast, Ireland has one of the lowest proportions of students opting for more vocational options.
Earlier this year, secondary school leaders criticised universities for standing over a “crude, outdated and unfair” CAO process for selecting students on to higher education courses.
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