Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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240. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide the data obtained from schools on pupil accomplishment in reading, mathematics, and so on; the frequency with which it is collected; and how it is analysed to establish relative progress in different schools and to inform the priorities for inspection assessments and policy options for educational advancement. [28307/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department actively engages with primary and post-primary schools to support pupils’/students’ learning, progression and accomplishment, through effective policies for curriculum provision and robust assessment arrangements at classroom, school and at system levels. My Department oversees the conduct of National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) on a systematic basis and participates in International Assessments to ensure reliable benchmarking of standards and comparison with other countries. The outcomes help us ensure the continued effectiveness of the Irish education system.

Primary schools are required to administer standardised tests in reading and Mathematics to pupils in second, fourth and sixth classes, and to report information from these tests to parents, boards of management and the Department of Education. For every class level, the data provided to the Department show the count and percentage of pupils achieving each Standard Ten (STen) score. Primary schools use this information to adjust teaching practices and to respond to individual learning needs where necessary.

The Department does not publish this data since the publication of league tables is prohibited, for obvious reasons, under the Education Act, 1998. The data also form one element of the school profile used by the Department to determine each school’s Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation. The use of the test data in this way helps to ensure that those children and young people with the greatest level of need in literacy and numeracy receive the greatest level of support.

During school evaluations, inspectors review the results of standardised tests administered by the school and use the data to inform the evaluation of the quality of pupils learning. While this statistical data is not presented in written reports, inspectors highlight school strengths and areas for improvement very clearly in the published inspection reports.

At post-primary level, systematic assessment is also a strong feature of our education system. Ireland’s participation in international assessments (PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA) provides a very important part of the evidence base for evaluating the effectiveness of our education system and developing responsive educational policies. The reformed curriculum and assessment arrangements at Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle also provide teachers, school leaders and policy makers with valuable data on the performance of second-level students and support their progression to further and higher education, and into the world of work.