Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 968: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the results of standardised testing at primary school level will be collated by her Department; if such aggregate results will be published; if she and her Department will use such information to inform policy on literacy and numeracy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1462/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A circular issued from my Department to all primary schools in December 2006 asking them to implement standardised testing in English reading and Mathematics beginning in the calendar year 2007 for all pupils at the end of first class OR the beginning of second class, AND at the end of fourth class OR the beginning of fifth class.

Schools have also been asked to ensure that, with effect from the current school year, the results of testing are reported to parents in respect of their own children in accordance with a broader reporting template, designed to report progress on children's learning to parents. This template is being finalised by the NCCA and will be available very shortly.

There is widespread acceptance of the value of standardised testing as one of a range of modes of assessment that help teachers to make more informed decisions in relation to teaching and learning. The results of standardised tests can be used to inform parents of pupils' progress and to assist in the identification of pupils that may require support. While the results of standardised testing will not be reported by schools to the Department, they will be made available to inspectors conducting evaluations. However, the results of these tests will not be aggregated at Department level nor will inspectors make references to test data in their reports in any way which would facilitate the compilation of league tables.

The programme of standardised testing is complemented by a separate programme of national monitoring targeted at:

A nationally representative sample of schools

A representative sample of schools in the School Support Programme of DEIS

A representative sample of Irish medium schools

The national monitoring will be repeated on a cyclical basis. The purpose of this programme is to identify changes in national trends over time for particular categories of school and to inform ongoing policy development.