There is a change coming to Leaving Certificate results that very few families have heard about, and it will affect the class of 2027 more than anything else in the news. The post-marking adjustment, the uplift that has been applied to grades since the pandemic, is being wound down, and 2027 is due to be the last year of it. I run Study Skills Ireland and I am asked about points constantly, so here is the plain version.
What is the post-marking adjustment, in plain English?
It is an uplift applied to Leaving Certificate results after marking, introduced when exams were disrupted during the pandemic and kept in place since so that grades would not fall off a cliff for any one year group. It has been reduced each year, and the State Examinations Commission has indicated that 2027 will be the final year it applies.
It was never meant to be permanent. The point of it was to avoid one unlucky cohort being measured against results that had been inflated for the years around them, which would have been plainly unfair when they were all competing for the same college places.
The reduction has been gradual and deliberate. Reported figures put the adjustment at around 7% for 2024, 5.8% for 2025 and 4% for 2026, with 2027 set to be the last application of it.
What has that actually done to grades so far?
Grades have been drifting back down as the adjustment is reduced. H1s reportedly fell from 12.1% to 10.1% between 2025 and 2026, and the share of grades receiving any uplift fell from around 68% in 2024 to 52.4% in 2025 and 35.5% in 2026. The direction is consistent and it is downward.
That sounds alarming written down, and it is worth saying clearly that it is a return towards the pre-pandemic normal rather than a punishment. The students of 2019 sat exams with no adjustment at all and the system worked.
What it does mean is that comparing your child’s results to an older sibling’s is misleading, and getting more misleading every year. A grade profile that looked ordinary in 2022 looks rather better in 2027 terms.
If grades are falling, will the points go down too?
Not necessarily, and this is where families get caught out. Points are set by supply and demand for each course, not by how well the country did. In 2026, grades fell but points held broadly steady, because applicant numbers rose to around 95,710, an increase of over six thousand on the year before.
So the useful mental model is a competition rather than a test. If everyone’s grades fall by the same amount and the number of places stays the same, the cut-off simply moves down with them and the same students get in. Points only really move when demand for a particular course shifts.
That is why the course-level story matters far more than the national one. Reported application changes for 2026 included veterinary up 82%, physiotherapy up 27%, medicine up 22%, engineering up 15% and architecture up 12%, while ICT fell 9%. Those shifts are what move a cut-off, not the grade adjustment.
What does this mean for the class of 2027 specifically?
The class of 2027 sits the last exams with any post-marking adjustment, and they are also the first group to sit the redeveloped subjects with Additional Assessment Components worth at least 40% of the marks. It is an unusual year to be in, carrying the end of one arrangement and the start of another at the same time.
I would not turn that into a reason to panic at home. The students in 2027 are being compared with each other, in the same year, under the same rules. Nobody in that cohort is at a disadvantage relative to the person sitting beside them, which is the only comparison that decides a college place.
The one group who should pay attention are students considering repeating. A repeat year in 2028 would be sat with no adjustment at all, against a cohort that also has none. That is a real consideration and it deserves a proper conversation with a guidance counsellor rather than a decision made in August.
Is there anything else changing about points in 2027?
Yes, and it matters to families in Irish-medium education. From 2027 the bonus for sitting examinations through Irish is reported to extend to coursework and the new assessment components, not only to written papers. The Irish Second-Level Students Union estimated that students in 2026 lost up to 43 CAO points because that bonus did not yet cover the newer components.
If your child is in a Gaelcholáiste or sitting subjects through Irish, this is worth checking directly with the school, because forty points is the difference between a course and a near miss for a great many students every year.
So what should a parent actually take from all this?
Stop comparing your child’s grades to older siblings or to published averages from a few years ago, and start paying attention to the courses they actually want and how demand for those is moving. That is the only part of the points system a family can usefully respond to.
The second thing is that none of this changes what makes a difference at home. No student ever improved their position by worrying about national grade statistics, and a great many have improved it by working steadily from October rather than frantically from April.
At Study Skills Ireland seminars I meet sixth years every week who can recite the points for their course and have no plan for the week ahead. The points are the scoreboard. The work is the game, and it is the only part your child controls.
Where should I check this for myself?
Check examinations.ie for anything issued by the State Examinations Commission on grading, gov.ie for Department of Education announcements, and cao.ie for points, dates and fees. Ask your child’s guidance counsellor about anything specific to your own school and subject mix.
I would check rather than take anybody’s word for it, mine included. The arrangements have changed every year since 2020 and they are still changing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 2027 the last year of Leaving Cert grade adjustment?
The State Examinations Commission has indicated that 2027 will be the final year the post-marking adjustment is applied. It has been reduced each year, reported at around 7% in 2024, 5.8% in 2025 and 4% in 2026.
If grades fall, do CAO points fall?
Not automatically. Points are set by demand for each course against the places available. In 2026 grades fell while points held broadly steady, because applicant numbers rose to around 95,710.
Does this disadvantage the class of 2027?
No. Students compete against others in their own year under the same rules. The comparison that decides a college place is with the rest of that cohort, not with previous years.
Should my child consider repeating because of this?
It is worth a proper conversation with a guidance counsellor. A repeat year would be sat with no adjustment, against a cohort that also has none, so the effect is not as simple as it first appears.
What is changing about the bonus for exams taken through Irish?
From 2027 the bonus is reported to extend to coursework and the new assessment components rather than only written papers. Families in Irish-medium education should confirm the detail with their school.
Helping your child work the part they control
Study Skills Ireland runs study skills seminars for secondary students and talks for parents in schools across Ireland, covering planning, revision method, exam technique and how to work steadily through a long year rather than in panic bursts. Enda O’Doherty delivers them personally.
You can see what the student study skills seminar covers, read about the parents seminar, or get in touch about bringing a session to your school.
