The number of students taking higher level Irish increased by 4 per cent after changes were made to the way the Leaving Cert is graded.
While those opting to take higher level Maths went up 2 per cent.
However, new research from the ESRI shows that students performance in these higher level subjects has dropped.
The changes to how the Leaving Cert is graded were brought in two years ago, in an attempt to ease the pressure on students.
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