Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the research and evidence which supports the approach taken to literacy and numeracy education at primary school level; his views that the evidence from the USA and UK that standardised testing has resulted in poorer performance compared with the continuous assessment model as employed in Finland, for example, is significant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38716/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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One of the key goals contained in the Programme for Government is to raise educational standards in literacy and numeracy at both primary and post primary education. That is why I have prioritised the publication and implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2011-2020 since becoming Minister for Education & Skills. Despite increased investment in education in recent years, Ireland's performance in mathematical and reading literacy declined in the 2009 PISA study. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2011-2020 is underpinned by extensive consultations and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, and the submissions include bibliographies and summaries of research which are published on my Department' website. In addition, the Educational Research Centre has published a detailed study of Standardised Testing in Lower Secondary Education commissioned by the NCCA, and this report clearly highlights both the benefits of standardised testing and the negative consequences which can arise if the results are used in a high stakes context. The Literacy and Numeracy Strategy sets out a comprehensive range of actions designed to strengthen literacy and numeracy in our schools. These include curriculum reform, extensive professional development for teachers, extending the duration of initial teacher education, improved school leadership and self evaluation, and actions with parents to support their children's learning. Standardised testing has been widely used in schools for a considerable number of years as one of a range of assessment approaches to support teaching and learning. Such testing has key benefits in identifying early children who may need additional support, providing summative information on students' progress vis a vis national trends, benchmarking the other assessment approaches used by the class teacher, guiding students' learning, and assisting school planning and evaluation. The Literacy and Numeracy Strategy provides for a further strengthening of this process and for reporting of results to parents, but gives a clear commitment that data will not be used for the compilation of league tables. The measures are designed to ensure a balanced approach to measuring and enhancing students' progress in this critical area.