LEAVING CERT STUDENTS can from this morning find out how their school ranked them against their classmates in the calculated grades process.

Students can also apply to sit the postponed exams in November. The entry process can be accessed via the Calculated Grades Student Portal from 9am today until 5pm on Friday.

In a statement to TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson said the Department of Education and Skills decided to make the ranking available to students after receiving legal advice on the matter.

They said the department “sought legal advice on the issue of making available to students their class rank order generated as part of the Calculated Grades process for Leaving Certificate 2020″.

“Following receipt of this advice, the department is now putting in place a system to allow students to gain access to their class rank information through the calculated grades student portal.”

This information will be available to students through the portal from today.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) last week criticised the Department of Education for agreeing to share the class ranking order with students.

In discussions with unions about how the calculated grades system, the department had committed to keeping the ranking order private.

‘Breach of trust’

In a statement released last Wednesday, the TUI said it had engaged in the process in a good faith, and a once-off basis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and had sought and received certain assurances to protect teachers.

“One such assurance was that the student ranking provided by a school would only be available to a student in response to a data access request.”

The union said the department “formally endorsed” FAQs outlining the understanding that the rank order would not be shared before they were posted on the TUI website.

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“The departure from this agreed position is a fundamental breach of trust by the Department and is profoundly damaging to the student-teacher relationship,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Release of class rankings in such a manner also has the potential to be extremely damaging for more vulnerable students, reinforcing stereotyping and stigmatisation, embedding disadvantage and serving absolutely no useful practical or moral purpose.”

Almost 12,300 students have sought rechecks of their Leaving Cert results following an appeals window earlier this month.

With reporting by Gráinne Ní Aodha