Category: News

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.

The Home-School-Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme was established in 1990 in designated areas of disadvantage by the (then) Department of Education. Initially introduced as a pilot project, the scheme was extended several times, and in 2005 became available to all primary and post-primary schools that were participants in DEIS. The philosophy underpinning the scheme is the promotion of partnership between parents, teachers, and the community in order to maximise outcomes for students at risk of experiencing educational disadvantage (Conaty, 2002).

In an acknowledgment of the key role that the HSCL scheme plays in addressing disadvantage, the ERC has sought the views of HSCL coordinators on several occasions. Most recently, a survey was administered to all coordinators in primary and post-primary schools as part of the Centre’s independent evaluation of the DEIS programme. On November 1st, the ERC released a report on the findings of this survey. The report covers topics such as the ways in which coordinators spend their time, the nature and extent of parental involvement in DEIS schools, and coordinators’ perceptions of the impact of their work on families, schools and communities served by the scheme. Additionally, coordinators’ perceptions of problems facing families of children attending their schools, information on coordinators’ collaboration with agencies and community groups, and coordinators’ levels of satisfaction with different aspects of support for the scheme are described. Where possible, comparisons are made between the findings of the recent survey and those from similar surveys carried out by the ERC in 2001 and 1993.

Read the report in full here.

The final report on the Digital Learning Framework trial evaluation was published on October 22, 2018. The report describes the progress, successes and challenges experienced by staff in the 48 primary and post-primary schools that took part. It follows on from the baseline report, published in May 2018. It identifies seven implications for the national implementation of the Digital Learning Framework, which is being led by the PDST technology in education team. Jude Cosgrove and Alice Duggan presented the key findings of this report to participating school staff at the Digital Learning Framework Trial Shared Learning Day in Croke Park on October 22.

Read the executive summary here

Read the full report here

Dr Jude Cosgrove has been appointed as the new CEO of the Educational Research Centre and formally takes up the position on September 17. Jude previously worked in the Centre for 18 years from 1997-2015. During this time she took a one and a half year leave of absence to work in the Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne (2005-2006). She also spent time working in health research (Institute of Public Health, HIQA) and employment research (Research Matters). She has a Masters in Psychology (UCD, 1997) and a PhD in Education (NUI Maynooth, 2005).

Jude has a number of years’ experience in the development, implementation, analysis and reporting of large-scale national and international assessments and surveys; has worked on evaluations and policy reviews; and is experienced in collaborating with researchers and policy makers nationally and internationally.

Dr Peter Archer is retiring after serving as CEO/Director of the ERC since 2009. Prior to that, Peter worked as a researcher at the ERC and at the Education Office of the Conference of Religious in Ireland (CORI). Dr Archer is highly regarded, nationally and internationally, for his extensive work in the area of educational disadvantage. He oversaw the transition of the Centre to a Statutory Body in 2015.

Peter’s calm and strategic leadership, compassion and humour will be greatly missed by Jude and by the rest of the staff in the Centre, who wish him well in his retirement.

On September 11th, the ERC published the latest report on the evaluation of the School Support Programme under DEIS. As part of the evaluation, large-scale assessment of reading and mathematics achievement has been carried out on four occasions since 2007, most recently in 2016. Previous evaluation reports have summarised the achievement outcomes from each rounds of testing. Contextual information on pupils’ lives and learning has also been collected from pupils themselves, their parents and their teachers, via questionnaires administered in conjunction with the achievement tests. This new report summarises the contextual information collected between 2007 and 2016, and explores links between achievement outcomes and characteristics and practices of pupils, families and schools.

Read the executive summary here.

Read the full report here.

The fourth report in the ERC’s Research Series was released on August 16th 2018. The Research Series is designed to provide regular and accessible reports on aspects of the research carried out by the Centre.

The new report is titled PIRLS and ePIRLS 2016: Test content and Irish pupils’ performance, written by Eemer Eivers and Mary Delaney.  It examines Irish pupils’ performance on questions asked in the international study, PIRLS 2016 (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), and its related online reading assessment, ePIRLS.  The report uses the real texts used in the study and real pupil answers to examine Irish pupils’ particular strengths and weaknesses, and to highlight gender differences.

• Click here to download PIRLS and ePIRLS 2016: Test content and Irish pupils’ performance.
• Click here for the press release.

The third report in the Research Series, launched in June 2018, was Inside the post-primary classroom: Mathematics and science teaching in Second Year, written by Aidan Clerkin, Rachel Perkins, and Emma Chubb.

• Click here to download Inside the post-primary classroom: Mathematics and science teaching in Second Year.
• Click here for the e-appendix (with additional statistical information).
• Click here for the press release.

The second report in the Research Series, launched in December 2017, was Inside the primary classroom: What happens in Fourth Class?, written by Aidan Clerkin, Rachel Perkins, and Emma Chubb.

• Click here for the report.
• Click here for the press release.

The first report in the Research Series, also launched in December 2017, was Shaping Schools: What TIMSS tells us about education systems, written by Eemer Eivers and Emma Chubb.

• Click here for the report.
• Click here for the press release.

Further releases in the Research Series, including analysis of data from PIRLS 2016, are expected later in 2018.

 

The third report in the ERC’s Research Series was released on June 27th 2018. The Research Series is designed to provide regular and accessible reports on aspects of the research carried out by the Centre.

The new report is titled Inside the post-primary classroom: Mathematics and science teaching in Second Year, written by Aidan Clerkin, Rachel Perkins, and Emma Chubb.  It uses data from TIMSS 2015 to describe the teaching of mathematics and science in Second Year classrooms.

• Click here to download Inside the post-primary classroom: Mathematics and science teaching in Second Year.
• Click here for the e-appendix (with additional statistical information).
• Click here for the press release.

The second report in the Research Series, launched in December 2017, was Inside the primary classroom: What happens in Fourth Class?, written by Aidan Clerkin, Rachel Perkins, and Emma Chubb.

• Click here for the report.
• Click here for the press release.

The first report in the Research Series, also launched in December 2017, was Shaping Schools: What TIMSS tells us about education systems, written by Eemer Eivers and Emma Chubb.

• Click here for the report.
• Click here for the press release.

Further releases in the Research Series, including analysis of data from PIRLS 2016, are expected later in 2018.

The ERC is currently standardising new reading and maths tests for primary school pupils (from 2nd to 6th class). A small number of free tests are available on a first come, first served basis to interested schools. The tests have to be taken before the end of the current school year (i.e., June 2018), with no cost to schools. To avail of the free tests – delivered online – schools must be able to supply their own digital devices (e.g., laptops, iPads, etc) and have internet broadband connectivity. Information about these tests and the requirements for trying them out can be accessed here. An application form can be accessed here.

A collaborative research team from the ERC and the DCU Institute of Education have completed a second report on the Educational Experiences and Outcomes of Children with Special Educational Needs. The report was published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) on Monday, 26th March 2018. Peter Archer, Caroline McKeown and Jude Cosgrove (ERC) and Joe Travers, Zita Lysaght and Orla Ní Bhroin (DCU IoE) contributed to the report.

This report uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, and follows on from the first report of when children were age 9 and in primary school, to the age of 13, when most children were at post-primary school. The report considers the extent to which special educational needs have changed or remained the same over time; examines progress in some of the outcomes examined in the first report, along with additional outcomes, such as transition to post-primary school; and considers differences between children with special educational needs in terms of type of special needs, socio-economic, school and home contexts, and outcomes. The report includes a short literature review of these topics (in addition to the literature review in the first report), and presents the results comprehensively.

The Executive Summary provides an overview of the key findings, and an overview of all elements of the study.

Click here to access the report.

Temporary positions available for the scoring of student responses on reading, mathematics and science assessments

About the Positions

In April, May and June 2018, the Educational Research Centre (ERC) will be involved in scoring student responses on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

PISA is an international computer-based assessment of 15-year-olds in reading literacy, science and mathematics. It is a study of the OECD in which over 70 countries are participating.

TIMSS is an international comparative study of mathematics and science achievement at both primary (Fourth class) and post-primary (Second Year) level. It takes place every four years and over 60 countries will participate in the current cycle of the study. In Ireland, the assessments are administered in paper-based format.

Scoring takes place at the Educational Research Centre (ERC) from 9:30 am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. Scorers work within a small subject team marking individual student responses. Training in how to score students’ responses will be provided (including marking schemes and examples). For PISA, three teams of scorers will be formed, one for each subject area. For TIMSS, two teams of eight scorers will be formed– one team for primary level, and one for post-primary – and mathematics and science will be scored by the same teams.

Scoring for each element will take place on the following dates:

• PISA Mathematics: Monday 16th April to Friday 27th April 2018

• TIMSS (mathematics and science): Monday 30th April to Friday 11th May

• PISA Reading: Monday 21st May to Friday 8th June 2018

• PISA Science: Tuesday 5th June to Friday 15th June 2018

 

Payment is €14 per hour with a six-hour working day, with lunch between 12.30-1.30pm.

Note: the scoring tasks may finish a few days before or after the dates indicated.

Requirements:

• All scorers need to be fully proficient in English.

• All scorers must be prepared to work in a collaborative environment.

• Scorers can apply for one or more elements of the scoring (outlined above), provided that they will have full-time availability within the relevant dates.

• Scorers are required to have a third-level qualification (honours) in a relevant discipline (e.g., humanities, mathematics, science, engineering, teaching).

How to Apply:

Applicants should submit their CV and a short cover letter to paula.chute@erc.ie by 11:00am on Monday, 26th March 2018. The cover letter should outline how applicants meet the requirements of the role and confirm the dates that they will be available for work.

Applicants will be selected on the basis of the information they submit to the ERC. The ERC may telephone applicants in advance of finalising its selection to clarify points in their applications. Applicants may be offered work for one or more parts but not necessarily all parts of the scoring.

Applicants will be informed of the ERC’s decision by 9th April 2018.

Further Information:

More information on TIMSS in Ireland or PISA in Ireland can be found at erc.exsite.ie/timss & erc.exsite.ie/pisa.

For further information about the scoring positions, please contact Paula Chute at 01 8065 210, or

e-mail Paula at paula.chute@erc.ie.

The ERC publishes a new review of the international evidence on strategies identified as effective in addressing educational disadvantage, updating a similar review carried out by the Educational Research Centre in 2005 (Archer & Weir, 2005). The literature relating to each of six main strategies identified as effective in addressing educational disadvantage is summarised and critically evaluated. The report also examines the extent to which each of the identified strategies has featured in previous and current provision in Ireland.

Read the report here

The second report in the ERC’s new Research Series was released on December 18th 2017. The Research Series is designed to provide regular and accessible reports on aspects of the research carried out by the Centre.

The new report is titled Inside the primary classroom: What happens in Fourth Class? and was written by Aidan Clerkin, Rachel Perkins, and Emma Chubb.  It uses data from TIMSS 2015 to describe the teaching of mathematics and science at Fourth Class.

Click here to download Inside the primary classroom: What happens in Fourth Class?

Click here for the press release.

 

The first report in the Research Series, launched earlier this month, was Shaping Schools: What TIMSS tells us about education systems, written by Eemer Eivers and Emma Chubb.

Click here for the report.
Click here for the press release.

Ireland’s national report on PIRLS and ePIRLS 2016 has been released, to coincide with the release of the international reports on the two studies.  PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) takes place every five years and examines the reading achievement of pupils in Fourth Class.  The 2016 cycle also saw the introduction of an assessment of reading in an online environment (ePIRLS).

The results show that Irish pupils performed extremely well on both the paper-based and computer-based reading assessments.

Click here to access the national report, by Eemer Eivers, Lorraine Gilleece and Emer Delaney.

Click here to see the summary flyer.

Click here to download the press release

Gerry Shiel and Cathy Kelleher (ERC) have completed an evaluation of the impact of Project Maths on performance in Junior Cycle mathematics on behalf of the NCCA. The report draws on achievement data from international assessments and national examinations, as well as interview data involving mathematics teachers,  to identify strengths and weaknesses in students’ mathematical performance and implications for curriculum specifications.

Click here to access the report.

Click here to access the revised specifications for Junior Cycle mathematics.

All DES funding to promote engagement with standardised tests at post-primary level has now been allocated.  Successful applicants will now have free access to new tests of English reading and Mathematics for Second Years, using the Drumcondra Online Testing System (DOTS). Funding was on a first-come first-served basis.

All our tests remain available for sale. For more information, please contact us at dots@erc.ie.

The ERC published the baseline report on the Digital Learning Framework (DLF) Trial Evaluation on May 17, 2018. The report gives a starting context for interpreting the overall findings and progress made by participating schools over the course of the trial, which concludes in June, 2018. The final report on the DLF trial evaluation will be published during the third quarter of 2018.

Click here for report.