Towards a Better Future

Chapter Four: Assessment: Primary and Junior Cycle
on the basis of the outcomes. The need to introduce a range of coursework assessments as appropriate
for each subject specification is also acknowledged. Unfortunately, reluctance is evident in situations
where teachers are required to accept responsibility for assessing the work of their own students for
the purposes of certification. Thus, as the current reform proposals indicate, the terminal written
examination remains as the main mode of assessment. The allocation of a mere 10% to a school-based
assignment is unlikely to capture the serious engagement of many of the students, particularly those
less motivated, who may deem it a minor contribution to the overall grade in a subject. Achieving
a more substantial element of a school-based, teacher-led assessment system remains one of the main
challenges to be addressed in reforming the system.
Reform of the Junior Certificate examination has its own unique challenges. As policy moves away
from total reliance on terminal written tests to a more balanced system, as suggested in the DES 2012
reform proposals, the requirement to maintain the integrity of the examination system is paramount,
and this depends in no small degree on the systems put in place to ensure the validity, reliability and
practicality of the assessment process. Devolving the main responsibilities for the administration of
the examination to the teachers in the schools requires putting in place a robust system of external
moderation so that standards can be monitored across the system. This is also important for the
overall credibility of the system for all intended users, and for the protection of the teachers who
are involved in the process. The engagement of the teachers in external moderation procedures can
also form a very important component in sharing their experiences and in the continual updating
of their skills in assessment.
Credibility also depends on the competence and commitment of those charged with conducting
assessment. To a certain degree the reluctance of teachers to accept responsibility for assessing the
work of their own students for certification purposes is understandable, if account is taken of the
inadequate preparation of teachers, until recently, both at pre-service and in-service levels, on all
aspects of assessment policy and practice. Appropriate development opportunities in this area can give
teachers the expertise, the experience and, equally important, the confidence to play a more
significant role in the assessment of their own pupils, up to and including certificate level. It can also
give them the confidence to share the outcomes with other groups and, where appropriate, to
defend, as befits their professional status, the judgements they make.
For this reason, it is important that appropriate and regular development opportunities be made
available for the teachers on all aspects of assessment theory and practice, as well on the application
to specific subject areas. This is an essential requirement for the success of the reforms. The extension
of initial teacher education programmes offers additional opportunities to provide student teachers
with the appropriate skills in assessment theory and practice, while the extended period of school
experience will also enable them to observe and to contribute to the formulation and application
of school policies in this area. Elsewhere, institutes of teacher education, education centres and
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