Principals voice concerns over standardised tests

THE testing of second-level students’ reading and maths ability should not be used for the wrong purposes, a schools’ leader has warned.

Patricia O’Brien, the president of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), said there are concerns about the introduction of testing of students in second and fifth years, planned under the national literacy and numeracy strategy published in July.

Such tests are already used in primary schools, allowing teachers and principals to monitor standards.