Source
BreakingNews.ie
Summary
Former school principal and columnist Colm O’Rourke has criticised Ireland’s revised Leaving Certificate curriculum, warning that new assessment methods are ill-equipped to withstand the influence of generative AI. The updated curriculum, which allocates 40 % of marks to classroom-based work, was designed to promote continuous assessment but, according to O’Rourke, is now “too easy to cheat.” He argues that the reforms—developed years ago—have already been overtaken by technological change. O’Rourke calls for more in-person, practical, and oral-style assessments to ensure authenticity and to distinguish between genuine learning and AI-assisted shortcuts.
Key Points
- The new Leaving Cert curriculum allocates 40 % of marks to class-based assessments.
- O’Rourke warns these assessments are highly vulnerable to AI-assisted cheating.
- He advocates for oral, practical, and supervised assessment formats instead.
- The reforms were designed a decade ago and are now outdated by AI’s rapid rise.
- He argues that genuine knowledge acquisition cannot be replicated by AI tools.
Keywords
academic integrity, AI in assessment, Colm O’Rourke, continuous assessment, education reform, Ireland, Leaving Certificate
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