Junior Cycle School Based Assessment Details
Dear Parent/Guardian of a Junior Cycle Student,
Further to our communication on Wednesday evening (text message, BCS facebook page and news section on our website) regarding the revised arrangements for this year’s junior cycle, we are now in a position to outline the details of your son/daughter ‘s school based report.
As you are aware this report will set out your son/daughter’s learning achievements in junior cycle.
In the interest of transparency we have outlined each subject department’s approach to your son/daughter’s junior cycle assessment including a breakdown of its various components. Please note that it is the overall grade descriptor which will be inserted into your son/daughter’s school based report.
GENERAL SUBJECTS
In all of the general subjects 60% out of 100% will be allocated to previously reported examinations as follows:
-15% to 2nd year Christmas and Summer Exams
-15% to 3rd year Mini-Mock Exams
-30% to 3rd year Mock Exams
The remaining 40% will be divided into two parts:
-20% for an end of year assessment which will be conducted online or posted to your son/daughter
-20% for selected learning achievements as agreed and outlined below by each individual subject department for your attention
ENGLISH
The selected learning achievements (20%) are classroom based assessment two = 10% and general engagement (completion & quality of homework, participation, application of feedback, class tests) throughout third year = 10%
Please note that the end of year assessment (20%) will be a studied fiction question.
IRISH
The selected learning achievement (20%) is the oral classroom based assessment including preparation = 10% in addition to 10% engagement.
MATHS
The selected learning achievement (20%) will be the student’s engagement in mathematics.
Please note that the end of year assessment (20%) will be a paper on questions covered to date at either ordinary or higher level.
BUSINESS
The selected learning achievement (20%) will be the average of all the students’ class tests in third year.
Please note that the end of year assessment (20%) will comprise of 20 questions covering all course material.
SCIENCE
The selected learning achievement (20%) will be the student’s engagement in science (10%) and any in school assessments completed this year excluding the Mini-Mock and Mock Exams. (10%)
Please note that the end of year assessment (20%) will comprise of an assessment task based on the work done in two classroom based assessments.
Students are given three experiment titles and three research titles.
Students will choose one title only from either the experiment or the research titles and write up the task under given headings.
The three experiment titles are:
1. Physics: Investigate the relationship between slope/height of a ramp and the distance travelled by a toy car
2. Chemistry: Investigate the effect of temperature on the solubility of a substance (salt or sugar) in water
3. Biology: Investigate the effect exercise has on the rate of breathing or the heart rate
The three research titles:
1. Biology/Chemistry/Environment: Should we rely on pesticides for protecting crops?
2. Ecology & Sustainability: Should disposable products be banned or limited?
3. Physics/Technology: Are cars that drive themselves a good idea?
HISTORY
The selected learning achievement (20%) will be the student’s engagement in history.
GEOGRAPHY
The selected learning achievements (20%) are the average class test results from 3rd year (10%), online engagement and work submitted since school closure (5%) and a universal piece of assessed homework (5%)
Please note that the end of year assessment (20%) will comprise of a short question section accompanied by one long question.
FRENCH/GERMAN
The selected learning achievements (20%) will be based on the portfolio of work the students produced over the last two years along with their overall effort/engagement over the last two years.
PRACTICAL SUBJECTS
Your son/daughter has also studied two practical subjects (Art, Home Economics, Metalwork, Music, Technical Graphics and Woodwork) over the past three years. Each of the practical subjects assesses students in distinct and unique ways. Therefore the assessment criteria in these subjects differ from the general subjects criteria outlined above.
ART
The breakdown of 100% is as follows:
45% for the clay artefact
35% for the workbooks
20% for the End of Year Assessment where students can pick one of two options: Option 1 = Complete their second artwork based on the junior Cycle themes.
Option 2 = Draw a detailed observational study of an object of their choice.
Individual contact will be made by the art teacher with students regarding the above.
HOME ECONOMICS
Written Work – 50%
3rd Year Mock Examination (25%)
Average of all other 2nd and 3rd Year Tests (25%)
(including Class Tests, Christmas and Summer Tests and Mini-Mock Examination)
Practical Work – 50%
Project – (20%)
(Assessment of Child Care Project or Design and Craft Project i.e. Wall-hanging and Folder)
Food Studies Practical – (30%)
(Assessment of culinary skills demonstrated in Home Economics practical class including preparatory work for Junior Certificate Food and Culinary Skills Examination)
MUSIC
The breakdown of 100% is as follows:
60 % for the 2nd year Christmas and Summer Exams (15%), the 3rd year Mini-Mock Exams (15%) and the 3rd year Mock Exams (30%).
The selected learning achievements (20%) are made up of the practical (10%), class effort/engagement (5%) and an average of five class test results in 3rd year (5%)
Please note that the end of year assessment (20%) will comprise of two questions: Melody and Backing Chords for higher level and Melody and Triads for ordinary level.
METALWORK
The breakdown of 100% is as follows:
75% for practical coursework that has been completed in class up to the point of school closure. Marking schemes will be adapted to reflect the loss of time to complete the project.
12.5% for Mock Exam
12.5% for End of Year Home Based Assessment to be administered online or via post.
WOODWORK
The breakdown of 100% is as follows:
66% for the student’s junior certificate project that has been completed in class up to the point of school closure. Marking schemes will be adapted to reflect the loss of time to complete the project.
33% for theory made up of the Mock Exam theory result (17%) and an End of Year Theory Assessment (17%) to be administered online or via the post.
TECHNICAL GRAPHICS
The breakdown of 100% is as follows:
10% for 2nd year Christmas Exam
10% for 2nd year Summer Exam
20% for Mini-Mock Exam
40% for Mock Exam
20% for End of Year Assessment which will involve the creation of revision sheets on specified topics by means of freehand sketching.
End of year assessments will commence from Monday 11th May onwards and conclude by Wednesday 20th May. Completed reports will be posted home in June 2020. There will be no interviews for applicants to the Transition Year Programme and the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. Letters of offer will issue with the reports in June 2020.
There may be a small number of students who are unable to complete their end of year assessments online. It is important that they receive the assessments by post during the week commencing Monday 11th May. Please email fergalkenny@bailieborocs.ie before Thursday 7th May if you require the assessments posted to your home address. The completed assessments must be posted back to the school in order to meet the required deadline of Wednesday 20th May.
Having consulted with the Chairpersons of both the Board of Management and the Parents’ Association, the above was deemed the most appropriate method of assessment for our third year students and their relevant subjects.
Many thanks for your continued support during this difficult time for our young people and their families.
Yours sincerely,
Martha Lievens
Principal
Fergal Kenny
Deputy Principal