'Unintended' impacts of bonus points for Higher Level Maths
The awarding of bonus points to students who achieve a pass or more in Higher Level Maths has had unintended negative consequences and should be re-assessed, a new study has found.
The study was carried out by the National Centre for STEM Education with academics from Mary Immaculate College, UCC and UL.
Their findings are based on an analysis of data from the State Examinations Commission as well as perspectives gathered from almost 2,000 students and teachers.
'Bonus Territory: The Shifting Landscape of Higher Level Senior Cycle Mathematics' finds that while the introduction of bonus points in 2012 led to a 130% increase in students opting to complete the Higher Level Leaving Certificate course, the move has led to a reduction in Mathematical standards and a slowing of the pace of learning in classes.
Since 2012, students who achieve a score of 40% or more in Higher Level Leaving Certificate Maths gain an additional 25 points.
Prior to their introduction in 2011, 15.6% of Maths students opted for the Higher Level paper, but by 2017 that had risen to 30%, and it stood at 36.3% in 2024.
Bonus points are cited by most students in the research as the key reason for choosing Higher Level Mathematics, so the potential 25 point CAO boost on offer is the appeal as opposed to the love or challenge of Mathematics.
The research finds that teachers of Higher Level Senior Cycle Mathematics are experiencing significant challenges in relation to catering for widening ranges of achievement in their classrooms, with an increasing number of students requiring extra support.
This in turn has led to a reduction in the pace of learning and greater demands on teachers' time and energy.
"Teachers have also expressed concerns that opportunities to engage in more challenging material are limited and, as a result, worry that their higher attaining students may not be challenged sufficiently," it states.
The report finds that standards linked to grades awarded upon completion of Senior Cycle Higher Level Mathematics appear to have declined in the past 15 years.
Marks awarded in the Leaving Certificate are benchmarked against previous years and this tends to maintain the proportion of students achieving a given grade level in a subject from year to year. The practice is known as "attainment referencing".
"It has become less of a challenge to achieve these higher grades and, thus, standards in Mathematics appear to have declined as a result," the report concludes.
"With the significant growth and transformation in a typical Higher Level Senior Cycle Mathematics cohort, maintaining relatively similar grade attainment levels led to a greater number of students achieving grades at the upper end when compared to previous cohorts."
"These findings indicate that while measures such as [bonus points] appear to work well on the surface, they need to be adopted with care and consideration for the broad range of consequences, intended and unintended, that they may have on a variety of stakeholders," the report finds.
Top among a number of recommendations the report calls on policy makers to re-assess the nature of bonus points to reduce the incentive to aim for a low passing grade.
It proposes linking the number of bonus points awarded to the grade achieved, which would result in a greater number of bonus points for those with higher grades.
Expressing concern at the "extrinsic" nature bonus points in motivating students to study the subject at Higher Level, the report states: "More focus should be placed on interventions which enhance students' attitudes towards Mathematics, thereby boosting intrinsic motivation to study the subject at Higher Level."
The report authors, Drs Paraic Treacy of MIC, Mark Prendergast of UCC, and Niamh O'Meara of UL, say it is the culmination of six years of research examining the impact of bonus points, as well as the wider implications for the education system in Ireland.
"This report gives us a clearer picture of the totality of the impact of bonus points and outlines evidence-informed action which should be taken in light of these findings", they say.
Prof Geraldine Mooney Simmie, Director of EPISTEM, the National Centre for STEM Education in UL, called the report "detailed and timely".
She said: "The insights and evidence from this study will be of great interest to a wide number of policymakers and will help to shape a futures-oriented view of the important role of Mathematics Education and STEM Education in a fast-changing world".
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