The Educational Research Centre has published Volume 43 of the IJE.  Featuring a lead article on Tom Kellaghan, founder of the Educational Research Centre and its Director from 1966 to 2009, the article, co-authored by Mary Lewis and Gerry Shiel, records Tom’s considerable contribution to the journal while capturing key elements of the history of educational research in Ireland.

Three additional articles are published in this latest and final hard-copy edition of the IJE: A review of the literature on school effectiveness (Lorraine Gilleece & Aidan Clerkin); an article on the need for a wider reading experience for undergraduate students in Ireland, particularly those in the technology sector (Sue Norton); and an examination of the mathematics performance of students entering university in Ireland in recent years (Gerry Shiel, David Millar & Rachel Cunningham).

Volume 44 of the IJE will be published online in summer 2021.

View/Download the articles here.

Please note, in order to process test orders as quickly as possible, the Test Department will only take phone queries between 2 pm and 4 pm, daily, on 01 837 76 14.

We are delighted to announce that our new online assessment system, ERC DOTS (Drumcondra Online Testing System), is now live and ready for schools to use. All schools should have received an email from the ERC at the end of April with unique login credentials for their own accounts. Primary and post-primary schools can purchase tests, set up test sessions, administer tests, and receive reports all from within the system.  ‘How to’ videos and other resources are also available within the system.

If you are interested in administering standardised tests online, please watch this short video that shows you how to get started on using the new ERC DOTS system: https://youtu.be/2tarH5DLQTA.

You can view information about all of the ERC’s tests for schools (both paper-based and online tests) here: www.tests.erc.ie. This website also includes answers to Frequently Asked Questions about ERC DOTS and online testing.  You can see a short flyer with more details about the online tests and the capabilities of ERC DOTS at https://bit.ly/3lHPDQO and (leagán Gaeilge) https://bit.ly/2OyYwA5.

After being postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the administration of the National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) tests and questionnaires will begin next week, on May 4^th. The administration window runs until May 14^th. Approximately 12,000 pupils in Second and Sixth classes, along with their teachers and principals, will participate. The ERC is grateful for schools’ continued cooperation. For more information about NAMER, click here.

The Educational Research Centre (ERC) today launched the initial national report for TIMSS 2019 (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). TIMSS is one of the world’s largest studies of educational achievement and today’s report describes the main achievement findings in mathematics and science for students at Fourth Class and Second Year. It can be downloaded here.

The Educational Research Centre (ERC) launches a new report on November 26th which examines the achievement of 15-year old students in DEIS schools. It is based on data collected for the OECD’s PISA study. The new report is a detailed national analysis that compares the achievements of students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools in 2018 and includes an analysis of changes in achievement over time in these two types of school settings.

Findings show that In PISA 2018, the average reading score in DEIS schools was at the level of the OECD average. Although average reading achievement is lower in DEIS than in non-DEIS schools, the difference between the two was smaller in 2018 than in 2009. In PISA 2018 mathematics and science, students in DEIS schools scored below the OECD average and also scored below students in non-DEIS schools.

Download the report       Download the overview

The Educational Research Centre (ERC) today launched a report describing the students’ perspectives on their school and on learning mathematics and science in Ireland.  It reports data collected for TIMSS 2015 (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), one of the world’s largest studies of educational achievement, based on the responses of about 9000 students in Fourth Class and Second Year who took part in TIMSS 2015 in Ireland, with international comparisons. Topics include:

• Frequency of absence from school.
• Students’ sense of school belonging.
• Students’ attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics lessons.
• Students’ attitudes towards science and science lessons.
• Differences in attitudes between boys and girls.
• Differences in attitudes between Fourth Class and Second Year.
• Relationships between attitudes and the home learning environment.

It can be downloaded here.

The Educational Research Centre (ERC) today launched a report describing the home learning environment of students in Ireland.  It reports data collected for TIMSS 2015 (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), one of the world’s largest studies of educational achievement, based on the responses of about 9000 students in Fourth Class and Second Year who took part in TIMSS 2015 in Ireland, as well as their teachers and the parents of Fourth Class students.

The report examines different aspects of the home learning environment, attitudes towards education, and education-related practices at home, with international comparisons. Topics include:

• Parents’ views of their child’s school.
• Parents’ attitudes to mathematics and science.
• Teachers’ reports of parental support for their child’s education.
• The availability of books, educational resources, and technology at home.
• Early literacy activities and early numeracy activities at home before children start school.
• Teachers’ reports on difficulties in the classroom related to poor nutrition and lack of sleep among students.
• Frequency and duration of homework.
• Participation in shadow education (grinds) outside school in mathematics and science, and whether such additional classes are ‘to excel’ or ‘to keep up’.

The report can be downloaded here.

Click here for press release.

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), in collaboration with the ERC, is delighted to announce an exciting new standardised test of literacy in English for use in post-primary schools, called the Post-Primary Assessment and Diagnosis – English (PPAD-E). The PPAD-E is a screening and diagnostic tool for assessing literacy skills that is specifically designed for use in the Irish context.

The DES is making the PPAD-E test freely available to all First Years in Irish post-primary schools this autumn 2020 term. Due to various Covid-19-related disruptions since March 2020, it is likely that post-primary schools may have less complete information than usual about the literacy skills and needs of their incoming First Years. It is hoped that a timely assessment using the PPAD-E can help to bridge this information gap.

Full sets of test booklets, training and scoring tools will be distributed free of charge to all schools that register their interest online by 06/11/20. It is recommended that the test be administered during November 2020 as it has been standardised for first year students with autumn norms.

Further information on the assessment and downloadable information sheets for students, teachers and parents are available on the PPAD-E webpage or contact ppad-e@erc.ie.

Tá tuairisc ar an tumoideachas i mbunscoileanna DEIS Banda 1 agus 2 foilsithe ag COGG (An Chomhairle Um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta). Rinne na húdair, Karen Ní Chlochasaigh (Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál, Luimneach), Gerry Shiel (an Foras Taighde ar Oideachas) agus Pádraig Ó Duibhir (Institiúid Oideachais, Ollscoil Bhaile Átha Cliath) iniúchadh ar athróga a bhaineann le gníomhaíocht i léitheoireacht an Bhéarla agus sa mhata sna scoileanna seo, le béim faoi leith ar dheacrachtaí foghlama. Díríonn an tuairisc ar na buntáistí agus na dúshláin a bhaineann le soláthar an tuomoideachais i gcomhthéacsanna faoi míbhuntáiste.

Tuairisc iomlán anseo

Immersion Education in Irish-medium Primary Schools in Disadvantaged Areas
A report on immersion education in DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 primary schools has been published by COGG (An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta). The authors, Karen Ní Chlochasaigh (Mary Immaculate College, Limerick), Gerry Shiel (Educational Research Centre) and Pádraig Ó Duibhir (Institute of Education, Dublin City University) examined variables associated with performance in English reading and mathematics in these schools. The report highlights the benefits and challenges associated with the provision immersion education in disadvantaged contexts.

The Department of Education and Skills announced the decision on the 27th April to cancel Standardised Testing for primary schools for the 2019/2020 school year as all schools are currently closed under Covid-19 restrictions and at that time there was uncertainty as to when schools would reopen.  The Department also announced that, as a result of the cancellation, the grant normally made available for schools to purchase standardised tests will not be issued this school year.

Any school who has order(s) pending with the Test Department will be contacted in relation to its order(s).

Any school who has already received its order(s) can contact tests@erc.ie for queries in relation to same (quoting “Query Re 2020 order received” in subject heading).

The ERC offices are currently opened on a needs basis only due to the COVID 19 outbreak but email communication is operating as normal. Urgent queries to info@erc.ie or phone 086 781 1553.

Christmas closure:

The Test Department will be closed for business from 5 pm on 18/12/2020 and reopen on 06/01/2020 at 9am.

The Centre will be closed from 5pm on 23/12/2020 and reopen on 04/01/2021 at 9am.

Should you wish to place an order for tests during these dates, please email your order to tests@erc.ie and you order will be processed and issued to you when the schools reopen in January.

If you have an urgent query in relation to tests or test orders please email info@erc.ie  (during the closure of the Test Department only) with a contact number where you can be reached. Someone will call you. Alternatively you can contact the Centre on 01 8373789.

Best wishes for a happy and safe Christmas.

ERC publishes first results from the national evaluation of the Digital Learning Framework (DLF). The report describes successes and challenges of schools as they begin to implement the DLF and embed digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment activities. It draws on survey data from school leaders and teachers, as well as focus group interviews with the PDST’s Technology in Education Team.

Please click here for report on baseline survey.

Please click here for press release.

A national report on PISA 2018 for Ireland is published today, 3^rd December 2019, alongside three volumes from the OECD on student performance in 79 participating countries.

• Students in Ireland are significantly above the OECD average in all three domains, with performance in reading literacy among the highest across OECD and EU countries.
• There are no significant changes in student performance in Ireland in reading literacy, science and mathematics, 2015-2018.
• There are significantly fewer low-performing students in Ireland in reading, science and mathematics compared to the average across OECD countries.
• There is a significantly higher proportion of high-performing students in reading literacy, relative to the average across OECD countries.
• There is an average proportion of high-achievers in science and a significantly lower proportion of high-performing students in mathematics in Ireland, compared to the average across OECD countries.
• In PISA 2018, female significantly outperform their male counterparts in reading literacy as in previous cycles; however in science and mathematics there were no significant gender differences in 2018, whereas males had significantly higher mean scores in 2015.

Click here to download the executive summary.

Click here to download the national report for Ireland.

Click here to download the ERC Press Release on the PISA 2018 results for Ireland.

This World Bank publication is authored by the late Thomas Kellaghan, founder and former director of the ERC, and Vincent Greaney. It describes public examination practices in an extensive range of countries and is likely to be of interest and relevance to policymakers, teachers, test and curriculum developers and examiners nationally and internationally. It draws on a considerable body of international sources. The evidence highlights important issues related to the design of examinations, such as assessment of higher-order cognitive skills, administration procedures, and use of results. The reader is presented with a selection of assessment approaches and issues to be considered by examination and curriculum agencies, including evidence of what has worked and not worked in specific situations. The book emphasises the need for caution in that changes can give rise to both positive and unanticipated negative outcomes for teaching and learning.

The book may be accessed free of charge at this link: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/32352

On April 3, the ERC published its first strategic plan covering 2019-2021. While the Centre has been in existence since 1966, it was not established as an independent statutory body until September 2015. The strategic plan attempts to capture the dual elements of transition and tradition, building on what has been achieved in order to respond to an evolving educational, social and digital landscape.

Our thanks to our Governing Board, the Department of Education and Skills and to the various agencies for their input into the plan.

You can read the summary of the plan here or the full version here.

Achoimre an phlean a léamh anseo nó an leagan iomlán anseo.

Conference and Workshop Event

16^th-17^th May, Riu Plaza The Gresham, Dublin 1, Ireland

The Educational Research Centre (Dublin, Ireland) and Educational Testing Service (Princeton, NJ, USA) are collaborating to support the growing interest in log-file and process data from international large-scale assessments. A conference and workshop will take place on the 16^th and 17^th May, 2019 at the Riu Plaza Gresham Hotel, Dublin, Ireland.

Registration for the event is now closed.

Conference brochure is available here.

Contact details

If you have any queries or questions related to the application process for the workshop or registration for the conference, please contact the team at processdataconference2019@erc.ie

This report presents findings from a three-year, three-wave longitudinal study of students’ experiences and perceptions of Transition Year (TY) and associated socioemotional outcomes. The report focuses especially on the student voice: what students know and think about TY while in Third Year, such as the parts of TY that would attract them and those that would deter; what they report from their experience as participants during TY; and how they view TY in retrospect from a more senior vantage point in Fifth and Sixth Year.

Read the report in full here.

Other publications by Aidan Clerkin on this study of Transition Year are also available:

• Clerkin, A. (2018). Filling in the gaps: A theoretical grounding for an education programme for adolescent socioemotional and vocational development in Ireland. Review of Education, 6, 146-179.[link to PDF]
• Clerkin, A. (2018). Context and Implications Document for: Filling in the gaps: A theoretical grounding for an education programme for adolescent socioemotional and vocational development in Ireland. Review of Education 6, 180-182. [link to PDF]
• Clerkin, A. (2018). Who participates? Predicting student self-selection into a developmental year in secondary education. Educational Psychology, 38 (9), 1083-1105. DOI: 1080/01443410.2018.1504004[link to PDF]
• Clerkin, A. (2019). A three-wave longitudinal assessment of socioemotional development in a year-long school-based ‘gap year’. British Journal of Educational Psychology. [Link to PDF]

On January 7th, the ERC published the latest report on the evaluation of the DEIS programme. The report, by Susan Weir and Lauren Kavanagh, describes trends in student achievement and attainment in DEIS and non-DEIS schools over time. Findings indicate a continued narrowing of the gaps in both of these outcomes between DEIS and non-DEIS schools.

Read the press release here.

Read the full report here.

Read the executive summary here.