Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA)
CBAs: Classroom-Based Assessments
AT: Assessment Task
SLAR: Subject Learning & Assessment Review
OAL: Other Areas of Learning
The new Junior Cycle spreads assessment throughoutthe three years of Junior Cycle giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning away from the exam hall. The Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) will take place in second year and third year. Each CBA is different, but they focus around project work, presentations and experiments. They are a form of continuous assessment and the results of CBAs will be recognised on each student’s official Junior Cycle certificate; the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement(JCPA). Subject teachers will explain the Classroom-Based Assessment procedures in more detail in second year, but you will find that teachers will practice the skills needed for the CBAs throughout Junior Cycle.
Assessment Tasks (AT) In third year after completing the CBA2 each student will complete a short classroom assessment called the Assessment Task. This is worth 10% of the final grade in that subject. It is marked by the State Examination Commission and the written element is generally completed within one forty-minute class period and takes place within the normal school timetable.
Classroom-Based Assessments(CBAs) and Assessment Tasks
1. As CBAs are reported on in each student’s Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement(JCPA) it is vital that students and parents note the dates of the CBAs and do their very best to ensure student’s attendance within the nationally set timetable. We will only consider doctor certs for absences during the CBA timeframe. However, parents should be aware that teachers must input results promptly after the CBA final dates and have very little leeway to give any form of extension.
2. Students may have to attend important extra-curricular events during the CBA time frames; therefore, they should take responsibility themselves to catch up on any work missed due to such absences.
3. Students should note that while they may be allowed to attend important extra-curricular activities during the CBAs, they must attend for their Assessment Tasks.While it is necessary to establish rules around the CBAs and ATs, it is also important to reflect on how they both support and consolidate each student’s learning. The CBAs will allow each student to work over a period of time supported by the feedback from their teachers and others, ensuring that they can produce their best work. The CBAs are reported on using the following descriptors;
- Exceptional
- Above Expectations
- In-Line with Expectations
- Yet to Meet Expectations
It is important that both teachers and parents affirm to each student that it is not only the grade that matters but also what they have actually learned about themselves throughout the CBA experience. In particular they should reflect about how their project work, experiments or presentations have helped them engage with their subjects and how the feedback they have received will enable them to progress further in the future.
