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A controversy has broken out over the contents of this morning's Junior Cert English exam.
An essay question on the Ordinary Level exam paper includes an option with the title "Travelling on a School Bus".
It is just two weeks since five teenagers died in a school bus crash in County Meath.
This morning`s paper is being branded "insensitive", and questions are being asked about why a back-up paper was not used.
How did this morning's papers have any info regarding today's exams?Quote:
Originally Posted by town73
LOL very good point!!Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatGuy
I might be missing something but there is no mention off this mornings papers having any info on the exam paper :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatGuy
I think they misread the last line ;)
That the impression I got anyway :DQuote:
Originally Posted by jofyisgod
This morning's paper refers to the exam paper, not a newspaper ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatGuy
That was pretty thick of the dept. to let that one slip through. Surely somebody who was involved would remember this item being on the paper and flag it (I understand the papers are set around Christmas time). Would make you think had they even got an adequate back-up paper...
The papers are set months in advance, no? I think it would be difficult to change the entire thing right before the exams are sat because one line mentions a bus. It's not like they were making light of the situation at all, it simply mentioned traveling on a bus, I think this is a bit of an over reaction tbf.
Isn't there always a back-up paper though in case of leaks?Quote:
Originally Posted by Slash/ED
How easy is it to use that though? They would have to alert every exam centre in the country and then send out the back up papers to them in good time before the exam is sat, given it would have taken a while for them to even notice the fact it was there, did they have the time to do it? They may not even have remembered that question was there at all, as they probably hadn't looked at the papers in months since they set the questions.Quote:
Originally Posted by tiktok
The acccident was two weeks ago,. I doubt the papers would even have been delivered to the schools until yesterday/day before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slash/ED
Both sets would have to have been printed in sufficient numbers in case the back-up was needed.
I'd guess it would have been a matter of circulating the alternative paper in the past few days rather than the original.
do they not send them out a good bit in advance too, but they're kept sealed so that nobody can see them? I wouldn't have thought they'd leave it until yesterday or the day before, too much risk of delays or problems in the post and them not arriving until it's too late.Quote:
Originally Posted by tiktok
If it was that easy then they should have given out the back up paper alright, assumeing they were aware of the question being on the paper.
They might only find out about a leak the day before, or even morning of an exam? Would the back up's not be sent or at least ready to go, at far shorter notice than 2 weeks? If not, then I think that's even more worrying...Quote:
Originally Posted by Slash/ED
You may be right, I mean I haven't a clue, I'm only guessing here, but I'd imagine this is simply a case of either nobody remembering the question or noticing it too late to be able to change the paper. They set the questions months in advance, they'd probably have forgotten what was on each paper long ago, and I would have thought they'd be sealed up and at the schools well in advance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
The title of the essay is pretty general, in normal circumstances, so who's to say the back-up didn't have the same essay title. Perhaps they were left with no choice, presuming they even realised the issue.
True, the back-up may have only had different options on the core questions, though it's be better if nothing was the same on the two papers.Quote:
Originally Posted by noby
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatGuy
Some tips: take your time; read it carefully; make sure you understand it fully before answering
They send two versions of each one to every examination center. In the 80's there was a break-in at some school up the country the night before an exam and the guys got one of the papers, but the department were able to get in touch with every school first thing the next morning, and let them know to issue the backup copy.
Can't imagine they check it for every news story throughtout the year. Pretty impossible to do. There's always gonna be people who will have soething in the paper that will spark a personal memory. I can see how it would have slipped through.
There is seven choices in personal writing section of the JC at least there is in Higher level! I dont see how they couldnt change one of them!Quote:
Originally Posted by noby