Uproar over mooted standardised test model

Primary teachers have voiced strong reservations about a new model aimed at improving literacy and numeracy standards in schools.

Several delegates at the INTO congress claimed the standardised system of testing pupils in reading and maths in second, fourth and sixth class, introduced last year, is flawed.

Results of the tests have to be given to boards of management and the Department of Education to establish national literacy and numeracy levels. Parents are informed about how their children do in the tests.

Some teachers claimed the system could result in teaching being focussed on the tests, rather than on the general curriculum.

Limerick delegate Gerry O’Sullivan said there were serious implications for all concerned.

“While previous standardised tests were seen as an assessment for learning, now the emphasis has changed to an assessment of learning.”

Mr O’Sullivan, a member of the INTO education committee, said they had fought for many years for child-centred education and had moved away from a system based on the three Rs.

“Every child is entitled to an education suitable to his/her needs, and while setting of targets may be suitable for production on the factory floor, such an approach is not suitable in... education,” he said.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has committed to not release the information on tests for the purpose of creating league tables.

Some delegates feared that could still happen. INTO executive member Bryan O’Reilly warned: “We will be watchful of him and future ministers to ensure this commitment is honoured.”

Ciara Uí Chonduibh, Co Meath, said claiming greater accountability based on standardised tests would improve education was flawed.

“Evaluating pupils and teachers on the basis of the student’s test scores is fraught with inaccuracy, promotes a narrowing of the curriculum to only the subjects tested, encourages the practice of ‘teaching to the test’ and ultimately leads to misguided comparisons and conclusions,” she said.

Delegates passed a motion deploring the approach, and asked the INTO education committee to investigate all aspects of standardised tests.