Teachers committed to system that focuses on assessment

The document agreed by union leaders and Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan includes substantial elements of previous documents that had the support of all parties, but varies on some significant elements.

In its six pages and a two-page summary, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland commit to a system that has a focus on assessment, and less emphasis than currently rests on the final written Junior Certificate exam.

In order to allow for full training for teachers of English, schools will be allowed to defer until autumn 2016 the first school-based assessment scheduled for next spring. This means students who have just finished first year may still undertake a classroom-based assessment in second year, but their schools can opt to do the work instead in the first term.