Towards a Better Future

Chapter Four: Assessment: Primary and Junior Cycle
15-year-old students in Mathematics, Reading
Literacy and Science. It is conducted under the
auspices of the OECD and takes place in threeyearly
cycles beginning in 2000. In each cycle, one
subject area/domain becomes the main focus of
the assessment; the other two are ‘minor domains’.
Reading Literacy was the main focus in 2000 and
2009, Mathematics in 2003 and 2012, and Science
in 2006 and 2015. In reviewing PISA surveys, it
should be noted that the 2009 survey differed
considerably from all other cycles in finding
“
The aim of PISA is to measure
how well students at age 15
are prepared to meet the
challenges they may
encounter in future life.
”
significant declines in achievement in both Reading Literacy and Mathematics, most notably in Reading,
both in Ireland and in other participating countries. A number of aspects of that survey have been
extensively analysed by Perkins et al., 2012; Cosgrave et al., 2010, and Cosgrave, 2015, in which it is
statedthat the extent of the decline has been exaggerated. These include demographic and curricular
changes, administration issues, lower engagement by students, changes in assessment specifications, and
issues concerning the estimation of PISA achievement scores within and across cycles.
The most recent analysis of the performances of Irish students in PISA surveys is based on the 2015
assessment. In that year, Science was the main domain assessed and Reading and Mathematics were
minor domains. In 2015, PISA changed from print-based to computer-based testing. The ERC
conducted an analysis of the performances of students in Ireland and this summary of findings is
based on its report authored by Shiel et al., 2016.
(b1) Reading Attainments at Junior Cycle
In the 2015 PISA assessment, Ireland achieved a mean score significantly above the OECD average
and was ranked third out of 35 OECD countries and fifth among all participating
countries/economies. Only Singapore had a significantly higher score than Ireland. Just one in ten
of students in Ireland compared with one in twenty across the OECD performed at the lowest level
of reading proficiency (Level 2), while the proportion performing at the highest level (Levels 5 &
6) was marginally higher than the corresponding OECD average. As with the two other domains,
the range of achievement was significantly narrower than the OECD average. Further gains in
Reading Literacy in Ireland can be achieved through improvement in the proportion of students
performing at the highest level.
Female students significantly outperformed males. The difference of 12 score points is among the
lowest across comparison countries. The gap in gender differences in Ireland in favour of females
narrowed from 28.5 score points in 2012 compared with 12.0 in 2015 as a result of fewer female
students performing at Levels 5 & 6.
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