Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA)
What is it?
As part of the Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) the reporting process at junior cycle will culminate in the award of the JCPA to students. The JCPA is a new kind of award. It has replaced the Junior Certificate since 2017.
The JCPA was awarded by the school students for the first time in 2017.
The JCPA, alongside other reporting arrangements in junior cycle, will offer parents/guardians a clear, broad picture of their child’s learning journey over the three years of junior cycle. During the years in which students are studying existing Junior Certificate subjects alongside subjects for which new Junior Cycle specifications have been provided, the results of both will be included in the JCPA. (See Sample below)
From 2022 all of the new Junior Cycle specifications will have been introduced and the JCPA will from that year include results in respect of those specifications. In the majority of cases, the JCPA will report on student achievement relating to subjects and short courses that are broadly aligned with Level 3 of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
Rationale for the JCPA
The JCPA will capture student achievements in a number of assessment elements undertaken over the three years of junior cycle, including the grades in the state-certified final examinations at the end of the three years.
It will also report on students’ achievement in Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs) in subjects..
It will also provide an opportunity for the school to comment on student achievement, participation or progress in other areas of learning that may have been included in the school’s junior cycle programme. We can include broader aspects of reporting in this section or areas such as personal and social development. Students may engage in other learning activities. These can include social, cultural, pastoral, scientific, entrepreneurial and other activities.
Sample Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement
Further Information
www.jct.ie have prepared an information booklet for parents available online by clicking here.
The NCCA have an information website which is available online by clicking here.
