Towards a Better Future

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Chapter Four: Assessment: Primary and Junior Cycle as befits each subject specification, is to be incorporated into a revised system of assessment. However, obtaining agreement on the implementation of reforms has proved a stumbling block, with teachers reluctant to accept a greater role and responsibility in assessing the work of their own students for the purposes of certification. This has resulted in an almost total reliance on the centralised administration of the examination and much less emphasis on school-based, teacher-led assessment. The overall performance of Irish post-primary students in PISA surveys of assessment is quite impressive. Students consistently score at or above the international averages. This is especially so in Reading Literacy where the students are ranked high in the upper ranges in the respective surveys. A consistent finding across all PISA surveys in the case of Ireland is the narrow range of achievement across the entire distribution of scores. This is a consistent finding across the various surveys and compares unfavourably with the performances of the highest-achieving countries. While the performance of the lower-achieving students in Ireland is commendable and significantly above the relevant OECD averages, that of the highest-achieving students is only marginally above the comparable OECD averages. There is considerable scope for improvement in raising the achievement of students at the highest levels. The narrowing of the gender gap in Reading Literacy compared with earlier PISA surveys is to be welcomed, although the drop in the proportion of female students performing at the higher levels may explain some of these gains. The situation in Mathematics, although impressive, is somewhat more problematic when compared with Reading Literacy, with performance at the higher levels proving to be particularly challenging, as well as some specific areas of content. The findings for Science have been more encouraging and have been consistently positive ever since 2000 but more especially in later surveys. However, considerable scope exists for improving performances at the higher levels and in some content areas such as Physics and Chemistry. A recently-published Action Plan for Education: 2016-2019 (DES, 2016j) has set targets to be achieved between now and 2025. At primary level, these include reducing the gap with the top European countries in areas of Numeracy and Science, as well as that between lower-achieving students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools in Numeracy and Literacy. At post-primary level, the main focus is centred on improving achievements at the higher levels in Reading Literacy, Science and Mathematics and decreasing the proportions at or below level 2 in the case of Mathematics and Science. While these targets are consistent with the various survey findings, a note of caution is added in relation to the possible consequences of competing for the top-rank places in international assessment surveys. Pressures to compete at this level could unwittingly lead to an undue focus on the narrow range of skills included in these surveys, to the exclusion of other equally important areas of development that schools seek to promote. In this context, Professor Klenowski, at a recent Education Forum in Maynooth University (Klenowski, 2016), noted that Singapore, which consistently scores among the top five countries in PISA assessment surveys, has now found that the development of key skills beyond those included in the surveys has been neglected in their system, due to the pressures to remain competitive at the top level, and is now tending to reverse this trend. — 77 —
Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System Despite the reservations that may be held about the potential negative impact of standardised assessments, the evidence shows that they can identify particular strengths and weaknesses in the programmes provided in schools, as well as international comparisons of the standards being reached in the system. Happily, policy in Ireland in relation to participation in such tests and to the uses being made of the findings has ensured that they do not unnecessarily dominate the work in schools, while at the same time providing a valuable external perspective on the achievements of our students. The primary system is adequately served with appropriate programmes of standardised assessments but the same cannot be said for the Junior Cycle. A National Standardised Assessment in English reading and Mathematics at this level, so as to monitor trends in achievement,has been proposed (DES, 2012a, p, vi), but so far has not implemented. This has particular relevance in view of the changes proposed for the Junior Certificate, as Shiel et al. (2010, pp.98: 99) indicate that possible grade inflation has been evident in the Junior Certificate examination when compared with relevant PISA findings. How much more likely is this to happen when the Junior Cycle reform proposals are fully implemented? Looking to the future, it is hoped that the decision to launch the literacy and numeracy initiative in 2011 (DES, 2011a), and which already may be making an early impact, will make a significant contribution towards further progress in these areas. LOOKING AHEAD Debate and reform of assessment policy and practice has become increasingly common across education systems. Considerable emphasis is now being placed on linking instruction, learning and assessment policy into a coherent process. This forms an important dimension in the formation of school planning policies. Certain basic principles, supported by developments in the theory and practice of assessment, emerge from these reforms and should be borne in mind when developing assessment policy and practices. In the first instance and most importantly, every effort should be made to assess that which we really value in our students rather than that which can be more easily measured. Assessment policy and practices should be congruent with the subject/curriculum aims and objectives. Assessment should serve the curriculum, not dominate it. Assessment findings are defined in time, in that they provide an estimate of performance at a particular juncture and in a specific context. This does not define the achievement beyond the particular time the test has been taken and should not be deemed as a final judgement on the ability and potential of the learner. The two most important considerations in framing policy in this area are validity and reliability. Achieving absolute values in these variables is neither realistic nor possible. Yet, every effort should be made to achieve the highest measures in both cases. Of the two, validity is the more important, for a test that has poor validity, in that it does not adequately sample the content and objectives of a subject, has no relevance and its findings should be dismissed. On the other hand, a test that has poor reliability should also be discarded, as performance will fluctuate over repeated administrations — 78 —
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Towards a Better Future

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