Backed by almost 60 years of research and experience in education, the ERC is Ireland’s lead supplier of standardised tests and assessment supports in Ireland. Our digital and paper tests are developed by our expert team of educational researchers, in collaboration with teachers, subject experts, psychometricians, psychologists and others, as appropriate.

Overview

The ERC’s test development team is responsible for the development and provision/supply of standardised tests to schools and centres for education in Ireland. The purpose of these standardised tests is to provide insights into student learning and achievement. The ERC’s test development projects are typically multi-annual, involving the development of a test framework, the development of items (test questions), piloting, standardisation, and the development of norms and supporting materials for schools. By tailoring tests to the Irish curriculum, involving a broad range of experts and stakeholders, using a wide-ranging set of item types and topics, and ensuring that the diverse population of schools in Ireland is reflected in the test content, we aim to create standardised tests that reflect student learning and achievement in a fair and useful way.

Test development projects can take a number of years to complete, with each test going through a number of stages, as follows: