‘Teachers will in time value assessments more than exams’

School-based assessments of junior cycle students will be valued by teachers and parents more than exams over time, the country’s top schools inspector predicts.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) have not accepted the final proposals that emerged last month from talks with the Department of Education, chaired by Pauric Travers, the former president of St Patrick’s College.

The Travers plan includes schools issuing reports on teachers’ assessments of their own students’ work in second and third year. The State Examinations Commission would continue to mark the final written exams in all subjects under the proposals, which have been accepted by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan.