Minister McEntee confirms assessment adjustments for Leaving Certificate 2026
- Published on: 5 November 2025
- Last updated on: 5 November 2025
Following the Government meeting yesterday, Minister McEntee has confirmed that the gradual removal of the post-marking adjustment at Leaving Certificate, which began in 2025, will continue in 2026 when Leaving Certificate results on the aggregate will be brought just below 2020 levels.
The Minister also confirmed a gradual approach to phasing out of assessment adjustments, which have been in place for Leaving Certificate students in recent years. These will remain until revised curricula and new format examinations are introduced under Senior Cycle Redevelopment.
The Minister said:
“The 2026 examinations will take place more than six years from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is essential that we return to normal, pre-pandemic arrangements in order to maintain the integrity of these important examinations. However, I want to reassure our 2026 students that the return to normal will continue to be done on a very gradual basis. Results in the aggregate in 2026 will remain just under those in 2020 which were more than four percentage points above 2019 levels.
“Examinations in recent years have been subject to assessment adjustments, which gave students greater choice on Leaving Certificate examination papers, a reduction in the requirements for some coursework and, for example, a reduced number of sraith pictiuir for oral Irish examinations. I am happy to confirm today that these adjustments will stay in place until they are washed out by the revised specifications and examination formats on the way under Senior Cycle Redevelopment. This means that Leaving Certificate 2027 students will benefit from assessment adjustments in Irish, English and Maths as well as 29 other subjects.
"A similar gradual approach will be taken to the phasing out of the assessment adjustments applied in recent years for Leaving Certificate Applied”.
The Minister also confirmed that Junior Cycle students who are due to sit examinations in 2027 and 2028 will be required to undertake only one Classroom Based Assessment, as in recent years.
The Minister said:
“Research tells us that CBAs are important in helping students develop the Junior Cycle key skills, and that students enjoy learning in this way. However, the pandemic interrupted full implementation of revised assessment arrangements under Junior Cycle and the full suite of CBAs has never been undertaken. Given we would be returning to a new normal, it is appropriate to allow time for review of the CBAs, taking account of the experience to date, to refresh and update content as needed and continue to support students’ learning to the full."
Adjustments to coursework and practical work requirements in certain subjects at Junior Cycle will remain in place for those sitting the examinations in 2027, and will no longer apply for those sitting Junior Cycle in 2028.
Notes to editors
The implementation of Calculated Grades in 2020 and Accredited Grades alongside examinations in 2021 resulted in overall results on the aggregate being on average above those of 2019.
The return of written examinations for all candidates in 2022 was an important marker of post-pandemic return to normality. This was balanced with steps taken to respond to disruption to teaching and learning. These steps included adjustments to examinations and assessments themselves, and a post marking adjustment to the marks arrived at through the normal marking process. The latter aimed to support students so that they would not be disadvantaged by a “cliff-edge” in aggregate grades, when competing with the previous years’ cohorts when accessing onward pathways, including higher education in particular.
The post-marking adjustment maintained grades at the same level until 2024, and the gradual return to normal Leaving Certificate outcomes began in 2025. This brought the overall set of results on the aggregate to a point just above midway between the 2020 and 2021 levels on average. In 2026, it is intended that aggregate results will fall to just below 2020 levels.
In 2027 results on the aggregate are likely to reduce by a similar amount as between 2025 and 2026.
It is hoped it may not be necessary to apply a post marking adjustment in 2027, if the outcomes from the marking process remain similar to those of 2025 which were themselves slightly above 2019.
Following the marking process in 2026, the State Examinations Commission will undertake detailed analysis of raw results to determine the final shape of any post marking adjustment, ensuring a gradual approach.
Adjustments to Examinations and Assessments for Leaving Certificate Established and Leaving Certificate Applied
Adjustments to examination and assessment arrangements that applied in 2025 will continue to apply in 2026, in line with Minister McEntee’s announcement last April.
For 2027 and beyond, these adjustments will continue until replaced by revised subject specifications and new examination formats under Senior Cycle Redevelopment.
For example, in 2027, there will be adjustments in all subjects except those in Tranche 1 of Senior Cycle Redevelopment. Similarly, in 2028, adjustments will apply in all subjects except those in Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 of Senior Cycle Redevelopment, and so on. The subjects to be included in each Tranche have already been communicated to schools, students and stakeholders.
Adjustments currently in place for the Leaving Certificate Applied are a reduction in the number of tasks to be completed by students in Year 2 and the continued application of a scaling factor of 1.15 to written examination results in lieu of adjustments to examination papers.
Students entering fifth year and of Leaving Certificate Applied in 2025 and 2026 will undertake all tasks in Year 2. However, the scaling factor of 1.15 will continue to be applied. The scaling factor will not be applied for students entering Leaving Certificate Applied in 2027 and beyond, who will sit their examinations in 2029. This gradual approach mirrors the gradual washing out of assessment adjustments at LCE with 26 LCE subjects out of 41 having no adjustments in 2029, many of these being among the highest in volume terms.
Junior Cycle Adjustments
At Junior Cycle, the adjustments mean that students are only required to complete one classroom-based assessment (CBA), instead of two, and the assessment task is not examined.
These arrangements, which apply for the 2026 cohort, will continue to apply for those sitting Junior Cycle in 2027 and 2028, pending a review by the NCCA. The review will take account of the core and essential nature of CBAs to learning outcomes, and ensure that the “new normal” in terms of number and content for the future takes account of experience to date and alignment with Senior Cycle
Since 2022, adjustments have also been in place for the practical components or projects in the Junior Cycle subjects of Visual Art, Engineering, Graphics, Music, Home Economics, Applied Technology and Wood Technology, reducing the volume of coursework.
These adjustments will not apply for students who entered first year in September 2025.