The Government has scrapped plans to replace the Junior Cert with class-based tests in the autumn.
Instead, all students will receive a "certificate of completion" from the Department of Education and a report from their teachers on how they've done over three years.
Education Minister Joe McHugh says it gives schools the freedom to decide how best to assess students and conduct exam alternatives before the summer holidays.
He says the decision gives students and their families more clarity and certainty.
The ASTI has welcomed the announcement that students will receive a State Certificate on completion of the Junior Cycle.
The union says it makes clear for students that they will have completed their Junior Cycle at the end of May.
However, ASTI President Deirdre Mac Donald has expressed regret that this year’s cohort of Junior Cert students will not have the opportunity to sit the examinations as normal:
“The experience of this examination has always been a valuable milestone in the educational experience of Irish students. However, having regard to all the circumstances, the guidelines being issued are the best that can be achieved this year.
“The pressure of sitting examinations that would have enjoyed no credible status would have imposed unnecessary stress on these students whether they were held prior to the summer holidays or in the autumn.
“We believe that the well-being of these students is best served by the freedom to enjoy the summer of 2020 without the pressure of examinations hanging over them.
“I wish to again acknowledge the enormous efforts of teachers, students and school communities in ensuring continuity of teaching and learning during this pandemic.”
