Shortly after I started working in Ireland, one of my mates told me that she had wanted to be a dentist but didn't have enough points for it so she had to do something else. I didn't understand at all and am still confused by this process.
My mate explained that when in secondary school, you take an exam. Your score on the exam determines what career you can have. Apparently, there is a point value for different majors in college. So, if you get a certain score, you can be a teacher. If you get a higher score, you can be a dentist or doctor. Recently, I met some nursing students. One commented that she wanted to be a speech therapist but didn't have enough points. So, in theory, speech therapists are "smarter" than nurses in Ireland.
The idea of a points system in order to determine what career someone can have is very strange to me. What if someone has a bad test? Besides, how can a test measure your competency in a given career? Or even your potential of competency? There is so much more to competency than cognitive ability. I would also really like to know how they determined the scores needed for certain professions. Who decided that a nurse didn't need as many points as a speech therapist who didn't need to be as "smart" as a doctor or dentist? Also, what happens if someone wants a profession that takes fewer points. Are they "allowed" to have that profession?
This system also makes me wonder, what would I have scored and what profession would I have today if I had been raised in Ireland or if the U.S. had a similar system?
OK, the disclaimer: I obviously still don't understand the test/point system. I am going to try to research it more but the above is how it was explained by multiple people to me.
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3 comments:
It's not really about someone having to be intelligent enough to take a certain major. Rather, it's a case of demand. If a lot of people apply to become a doctor (which they do) the places will be given to the top candidates. If only a few apply for a science degree (which demands intelligence), then the science degree points are low.
s a student currently studying for the exam, I have cursed the system many times. It's not an ideal system, but it is - for the most part - quite a fair one. If you have a bad exam, you can repeat it; however, you must wait a year to do so.
To explain the system some more.
We do State Exams called the Leaving Cert.
Everbody has the same curriculum for each subject.
People generally do 7 subjects though only 6 ( the best 6) are marked for university admittance.
People sign the exams with a id number not their name.
The tests are corrected elsewhere by examiners unkown to the examinee.
Students can appeal certain results once.
The top 6 subjects are marked out of 100, and graded from A down.There are half grades ( B+). Not for A, as far as I know. The leaving cert has two levels, higher or lower. The lower level is useless for getting into university as the points for an A at lower level are equal to the points for a D as higher level.
For enterence into university these grades are reconverted to points, you get 100 for an A, etc.
Applying to university you get another seperate numerical ID, you apply ( prior to the Leaving Cert) via a form - possibly online now - and chose you top ten courses.
People effectively have points to spend. See it as currency. The more people who apply for a course, and the greater the points they have, the greater the cost in points. The highest is clearly 600. No course comes in at 600, as getting A's in the leaving cert is difficult ( 3% is the average).
Not all courses are filled in this first round. Some people may not get their first choice and decide to retake the exams - a year later - thus a second round enuses and so on, until all courses are filled.
Courses can have minimum entry requirements either points, or certain subjects at a certain level.
I have to reject out of hand the nonsense that "doing tests" does not equate to a university career - which is all about tests. Are we going to employ engineers who fails mathematical tests, accountants who can't add, doctors who can't remember?
Eoin, thanks for the explanation. I do understand the system better now. My concern about the point system/one test determining your career options remains the same. I have met many people who were book smart and could do the academic things needed for a career but didn't have the other skills (like social skills or common sense) to be able to maintain a job or do it well. There is a lot more to working successfully than "book learning." This concern applies to all systems, not just the Irish one.
In the States, you apply directly to the college. You have to write an essay and sumbit your grade point average, and a test score. You can retake the test as many times as you want (they are offered 3/4 times a year I think) but colleges will frequently get all results so it hurts you to take it too many times. I am not saying this system is better, just different so I am trying to understand the function of the more centralized approach Ireland uses.
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