Mapping points from old 1980's leaving cert to new current system

Passport1

Hi

Just out of curiosity but does anyone know how you mapleaving cert results from say the 1980’s where it was honour or pass papers andresults were graded as A, B, C, D etc. into the new system we have now of 600points and A1. A2, B1, B2 etc.

Just curious to see what my 1980’S leaving cert result wouldequate to in terms of points in todays current system

Is there a web site or link anywhere that shows you how to do this or does it for you if you input your subjects and whether it was honours or pass and grades obtained
Thanks

linguist

An interesting topic indeed, not least since there are suggestions that the points system may be reformed back to something along those lines.

I was just about the last year to sit the LC with the old points system. As I recall it was (at higher level):

A7, B5, C4, D2.

I seem to recall bonus points for higher maths and I am open to correction on the points for a C. I still remember my points and the grades I got, so the A, B and D are correct.

Now obviously, the other debate you'll open up here is that of grade inflation. What I can tell you is that I got 29 points and that I was one point off Law in UCD (which I didn't want anyway). Using the accepted conversion of old to new points applied by a number of institutions, they are worth: A 95, B 80, C 65, D 50. That would give me 465 (midpoint between 450 and 480). The points for UCD Law in 1991 would therefore have been about 480 when converted in this manner. There is no question that a points score such as mine was regarded as very decent back then. Remember too that although the appeals mechanism did exist, there was no viewing of scripts and marking schemes were never published (although the good teachers usually seemed to get their hands on them!). Also, with such a tight points system, many more courses tended to apply random selection on round 1 which was one of the main reasons universities demanded a wider points scale from 1992 onwards.

Right, I'll grab the zimmer frame and shuffle off. Thanks for the memories!:)

Passport1

Thanks for the reply and information
Was there no difference between points awarded for honours papers and pass papers

Does the mapping apply the same that if you got a A in Honours Physics and an A say in Pass Biology - do you apply the same points - 95 in each case

Does it not differ? Would you not be awarded more points for A in honours paper than an A in pass paper

What was the breakdown of points for grades in honours and pass papers

Thanks

linguist

Of course not. I stated that the points were for higher level. I can't remember what they were at ordinary - I think it was A4, B3, C2, D1. I realise this may seem a little elitist but most points related discussion on this forum relates to higher level since, if you're not counting six of them, you're chances of getting a place on a degree course are significantly reduced. Also, remember that up to 1991, non-degree courses were not part of the CAO points system.

MathsManiac

Before 1992, the various different third-level institutions each operated their own system, all a bit different from each other. The NUI colleges (UCD, UCG, UCC, Maynooth) all had the same, which is, I think, as described by linguist. I'm not sure whether DCU and UL used scales similar to the NUI colleges; they only became universities in 1989, so presumable did their own thing when they were NIHE Dublin and NIHE Limerick.

TCD's scale was completely different, as was that for DIT and the various RTCs, as they were then called.

DIT seems to be the only college that has info going back this far on their website. These two might be interesting historical documents (p9 of the first one in particular also mentions the NUI points):
http://arrow.dit.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=ditbk&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ie%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dnui%2520points%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D4%26ved%3D0CEkQFjAD%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Farrow.dit.ie%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1023%2526context%253Dditbk%26ei%3Dvj4WUuPWDfCe7Ab3y4D4Cw%26usg%3DAFQjCNE0NALdRBGJmiHhIY4ggPBYZFpCjQ#search=%22nui%20points%22

http://arrow.dit.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=prosbt&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ie%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dnui%2520points%2520system%2520leaving%2520certificate%25201991%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CDIQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Farrow.dit.ie%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1075%2526context%253Dprosbt%26ei%3DbUMWUs2oC6eK7Aa4u4GoAQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNETJGUp9AIeNcpqoiW2zxoFR_JgsA%26bvm%3Dbv.51156542%2Cd.ZGU#search=%22nui%20points%20system%20leaving%20certificate%201991%22

pathway33

I believe if you got a B, C OR D in the 1980s then the CAO will convert those grades to B2, C2, D2. Don't know how they convert a 1980s A. Don't forget to add on 25 points if you passed higher maths in the 80s

spurious

There were much fewer A grades in all subjects in the old system, as the exams were, well, let's say different, rather than harder, so in fairness they should make an allowance for that.

There were extra points for HL Maths in the 80s - A in anything else was 5 points, but in Maths it was 7.

MathsManiac

Those Higher level points values were exactly my recollection too:
A: 5
B: 4
C: 3
2

Higher Maths:
A: 7
B: 5
C: 3 or 4 ?
2

I was almost certain that these were the points in my day, and was about to say so in my last post, but the DIT document from 1988 that I linked above seems to contradict that.

eyescreamcone

MathsManiac wrote: »

Those Higher level points values were exactly my recollection too:
A: 5
B: 4
C: 3
2

Higher Maths:
A: 7
B: 5
C: 3 or 4 ?
2

I was almost certain that these were the points in my day, and was about to say so in my last post, but the DIT document from 1988 that I linked above seems to contradict that.

You are correct!
HL Maths C was 4 points

Ordinary or Pass Level
A: 2 points
B: 1


Also you could do the NUI Matric Exam and chop and change results between LC and Matric.
Take Maths from LC and English from the Matric for example.
Different times

Max Score 6x5 = 30 points (+2 for an A in Maths) = 32 points.