A few weeks ago, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) organised a conference called ‘Transition or Transaction?’ to open a debate about the CAO system and whether it still fitted the purpose for which it was set up.
We have long held the view that, as happens in Britain, certain out-of-school or in-school extra curricular activities that provide young people with useful skills and certification should be valued and recognised by the State in the context of college entry. In other words, that points or credits should be awarded through the CAO system or any future college selection process for, for example, senior speech and drama Grade exams.
We tweeted this view during the conference and we believe that the idea was well received. We have now followed up with a short written submission to the NCCA and the HEA, and have asked for a meeting to discuss our proposal in more detail. Please click on the link below to read our submission.