Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 70: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on the recent report from the OECD which showed that 15 year olds here are performing at only average levels in maths when compared to other OECD countries; if she is satisfied that the new maths syllabus introduced three years ago is achieving results; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3011/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The report referred to relates to the second cycle of the OECD programme for international student assessment, PISA 2003, which was administered in 30 OECD member countries, including Ireland, and in 11 non-OECD, partner, countries in spring-autumn 2003.

In Ireland, 3880 15 year olds in 145 post-primary schools participated in PISA 2003. Tests in one major assessment domain, mathematics, and in three minor domains, reading literacy, science, and cross-curricular problem solving, were administered. As mathematics was the major domain, four separate content areas, sub-domains, were assessed. This means that, in addition to the combined, or overall, mathematics scores for each country, its performance on four separate subscales in mathematics is also available.

Ireland ranked 17th of 29 OECD countries on combined, overall, mathematics. The results for the United Kingdom were not included as response rates were too low. Our mean score was not significantly different from the OECD mean, indicating average levels of performance in mathematics overall. However, the closer analysis that is afforded by the subscales shows that students in Ireland achieved scores that were significantly higher than the corresponding OECD mean score in two mathematics sub-domains, uncertainty and change and relationships, at the OECD average in one, quantity, and below the OECD average in one, space and shape. These results give a fuller picture of our students' performance and point to strengths that are not obvious from the data on overall scores alone. A noteworthy aspect of Ireland's performance when compared with OECD countries is that fewer students performed at the lowest proficiency levels, level 1 or below, 16.8%, as against the OECD mean of 21.4%. This provides evidence of comparatively good standards among low achievers.

Caution must be exercised in using the results of PISA 2003 to judge the impact of the revised junior certificate mathematics syllabus that was first examined in June 2003. Account must be taken of the following factors: PISA does not aim to provide a direct measure of students' mastery of specific curricular content, instead it sets out to measure content and learning processes that are deemed important for life; important elements of the junior certificate mathematics syllabus are not assessed by PISA, for example, sets, geometry and trigonometry; and only 59.6% of students who participated in PISA 2003 took the junior certificate examination in 2003 and, therefore, followed the revised syllabus; the 34.3% who took the examination in 2002 followed the previous syllabus.

It is important to be aware that the recent revision of junior certificate mathematics was a minor update of the previous syllabus, carried out to deal with areas of the course that were giving rise to difficulties. The focus of the accompanying in-career development programme was on moving the emphasis in teaching from mechanistic approaches towards teaching for understanding, a change which is consonant with the philosophy that underpins PISA. While totals of 4,940 and 3,663 teachers of mathematics attended cluster-based and school-based in-service, respectively, in the four years up to June 2004, it would be premature to expect that the positive effects of these interventions would be evident from the results of PISA 2003.

The ongoing analysis of the PISA 2003 will inform my Department's policy in regard to mathematics in the post-primary curriculum. In particular, it will complement the review of post-primary mathematics which the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment will carry out in 2005 at my Department's request.