Area: DEIS

Reducing educational disadvantage across post-primary schools: Evidence from the first decade of the DEIS plan in Ireland

Published in: Studies in Educational Evaluation 2025

Abstract:

Equity in education is a policy priority internationally with policies and programmes designed to reduce gaps between more and less ‘advantaged’ learners. Evidence is mixed about the effectiveness of these, although limited use has been made of experimental or quasi-experimental designs in evaluation. Ireland’s main policy response to disadvantage since 2005 is the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme. This study uses a regression discontinuity design (RDD) to examine the effect of DEIS on outcomes for post-primary schools between 2007 and 2016. Using national-level data across this period, we find no impact on school-level outcomes including examination performance and retention rates. Furthermore, we find no effect of DEIS on the percentages of low or high achieving students in key subjects. These null effects are found despite widely-held beliefs that DEIS has had a positive effect. Findings highlight the importance for evidence-informed policy of methods that allow for causal interpretation.

Gilleece, L., Clerkin, A., & Flannery, D. (2025). Reducing educational disadvantage across post-primary schools: Evidence from the first decade of the DEIS plan in Ireland. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 86, 101466. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2025.101466

Principals’ initial perspectives of action planning in new DEIS primary and post-primary school

P-TECH IRELAND STUDENT SURVEY 2024

This report provides a snapshot of the student experience of the first P-TECH student cohort in Ireland as they finish post-primary school. It looks at their views on school, their experiences in P-TECH and their plans for the future. A total of 49 students responded to the online survey, representing a response rate of nearly 64% of eligible students. Students’ views on school were somewhat divided with about one-third of students disagreeing or strongly disagreeing that they looked forward to school. Students’ reflections on their learning within P-TECH were largely positive. The majority of students (>80%) reported that P-TECH supported their development in various skill areas or abilities either to a small or large extent. One-third of students were happy with the availability of the P-TECH mentor for guidance and support when needed (33% satisfied/very satisfied). There was high uptake of the work experience placements in Transition Year. About two-thirds of students rated their interest, enjoyment or overall work placement experience as good. The majority of students intended to continue in formal education after school, intending to pursue either  higher (59%) or further education (29%) courses. Over half of students (57%) reported that P-TECH was preparing them to some extent for their future career or further education . About half of students were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience of the programme. Students’ suggestions for improvement to the P-TECH programme included: clearer information on the programme’s content and goals; more information for students on P-TECH in general; clearer instructions for projects/tasks during work experience placements; and allowing students to provide ongoing feedback throughout the programme.

Towards more robust evaluation of policies and programmes in education: Identifying challenges in evaluating DEIS and Reading Recovery

Published in: Irish Educational Studies

Abstract:

In recent years, countries including the UK and USA have seen advancements in the use of Randomised Controlled Trials in education, progress that has not been mirrored in Ireland. Ireland does not have a strong tradition of using experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation designs for monitoring and evaluation of education policy despite well-articulated commitments to the latter activities. An example is the evaluation of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme where little is known about the causal impact of DEIS on student outcomes, despite considerable State investment over almost 20 years. There appears to have been comparatively little critical review of the literacy and numeracy programmes offered to DEIS schools, with those included at the outset largely still on offer. Here, we draw on the wider literature on the evaluation of complex interventions and consider what lessons may be learned for Ireland, illustrating challenges and opportunities by focusing on DEIS and Reading Recovery (a literacy support programme widely used in DEIS schools). We advocate for greater use of experimental designs where feasible and appropriate; further gathering of comparable measures of achievement at pupil level to facilitate monitoring; and detailed consideration of quasi-experimental methods that can support causal conclusions.

Gilleece, L. & Clerkin, A. (2024). Towards more robust evaluation of policies and programmes in education: Identifying challenges in evaluating DEIS and Reading Recovery. Irish Educational Studies, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2024.2334704

Trends in educational inequalities in Ireland’s primary schools: an analysis based on TIMSS data (2011-2019).

Published in:  Large Scale Assessments in Education

 

Abstract:

Background

Socioeconomic characteristics are persistently and systematically related to academic outcomes, despite long-standing efforts to reduce educational inequality. Ireland has a strong policy focus on alleviating educational disadvantage and has seen significant improvements in mathematics and science performance in recent years. This study investigates patterns of socioeconomic inequalities in 4th grade students’ performance in mathematics and science between 2011 and 2019. Two measures of inequality are examined: (i) inequality of achievement, i.e., the degree of variability in student performance and (ii) inequality of opportunity, i.e., the extent to which student performance is related to background characteristics.

Methods

Data for 4th-grade students in Ireland from TIMSS 2011, TIMSS 2015 and TIMSS 2019 were used. Mathematics and science achievement were the main outcome measures. The home resources for learning index was used as a proxy for student-level socioeconomic status. School-level socioeconomic status was examined according to schools’ participation in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme, which is the Department of Education’s main policy initiative addressing educational disadvantage. Descriptive and multilevel regression analyses were conducted to explore variability in student performance and to investigate the variance in achievement explained by socioeconomic factors, across cycles and subjects.

Results

Between 2011 and 2015, between-student and between-school differences in mathematics and science performance became smaller, as shown by the decrease in standard deviations and the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). This points to reduced inequality of achievement. Between 2015 and 2019, a small increase in inequality of achievement was observed.

Regarding inequality of opportunity, students’ home resources for learning and school disadvantaged status were statistically significantly related to mathematics and science achievement across all three cycles. Overall variance explained by these two variables increased from 2011 to 2019. This points towards increasing inequality of opportunity over the period examined.

Performance gaps between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged schools have been reduced over time; however, the relationship between home resources for learning and achievement appears to have strengthened. Findings were consistent for both subjects.

Conclusions

The findings indicate that improvements in overall performance do not necessarily reflect improved equality. Ireland’s improvements in average mathematics and science performance between 2011 and 2015 were accompanied by reduced inequality of achievement. Performance differences between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged schools have been reduced over time, suggesting that the DEIS policy is meeting its goal of narrowing achievement gaps based on concentrations of educational disadvantage. However, inequality of opportunity linked to student-level socioeconomic factors (i.e., home resources for learning) appears to have increased over time. These findings are valuable in the context of measuring and tracking educational inequalities.

Duggan, A., Karakolidis, A., Clerkin, A., Gilleece, L., & Perkins, R. (2023). Trends in educational inequalities in Ireland’s primary schools: an analysis based on TIMSS data (2011-2019). Large Scale Assessments in Education, 11(39). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-023-00188-2

Ireland’s 2021 National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading: Exploring the home backgrounds, classrooms and schools of pupils in Urban DEIS schools

This report follows on from Ireland’s National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading 2021: A focus on urban DEIS schools (Nelis & Gilleece, 2023). It is also designed to be read
in conjunction with the National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading 2021: Performance Report (Kiniry et al., 2023) which provides more detail on the administration of
NAMER ’21 and overall findings for achievement. Further findings from NAMER ’21 including findings related to teaching and assessment practices, pupil characteristics and school factors, will be described in a forthcoming report (Kiniry et al., Report in preparation).

A key purpose of this report is to look at pupil characteristics and school and classroom factors that may be associated with achievement of pupils in Urban DEIS schools. More broadly, analyses
in this report are intended to support policymakers and school communities striving to improve equity in education. NAMER ’21 was administered in Spring 2021. Since then, there have been developments in policy, practice and supports. This report was completed in late 2023 and focuses primarily on findings from NAMER ’21 rather than how findings may link to developments that occurred following the study.

Ireland’s National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading 2021: A focus on achievement in urban DEIS schools

This report provides in-depth information on the achievement of primary pupils in DEIS Urban Band 1 and Urban Band 2 schools in the National Assessments of Mathematics and English
Reading 2021 (NAMER ’21). The current report is one of two initial reports from NAMER ’21. It is intended to be read in conjunction with Kiniry et al. (2023) who provide more detail on the purpose of the national assessments, the administration of NAMER ’21, and overall achievement in reading and mathematics.

A key purpose of the current report is to compare the average achievement of primary pupils in Urban Band 1 and Urban Band 2 schools with that of primary pupils in Urban Non-DEIS schools.
In this way, findings contribute to monitoring progress towards targets under the DEIS Plan 2017 (Department of Education and Skills, 2017a) which refer to reducing the percentages of lower achievers in DEIS schools and increasing the percentages of high achievers, in reading and mathematics.

Primary pupils in Ireland also participated in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2021. Findings from PIRLS are published alongside those of NAMER; see Delaney et al. (2023) for Irish results. NAMER and PIRLS provide important insights about primary pupils’ achievement and experiences following the disruption to education systems caused by COVID-19.

Validating school-based measures of educational disadvantage in Ireland.

Published in: Education Policy Analysis Archives

Abstract:

Reducing the socio-economic achievement gap is a key goal of education policy internationally. Since 2017, the stated intention in Ireland is to use the Pobal HP Deprivation Index to identify schools serving high proportions of disadvantaged students. In spite of this, little published research has compared the performance of the HP index to richer survey measures from large-scale educational assessments or examined its association with educational achievement at primary or second level. This paper aims to assess the validity and fitness for purpose of the HP index for use in identifying schools serving high concentrations of socio-economically disadvantaged students. Analyses draw on Ireland’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 dataset matched with administrative data. Findings show a strong correlation between school-average HP and other socio-economic measures examined. However, about one-in-five schools are identified as potential ‘false positives’ or ‘false negatives’ when school-average HP is used for identification purposes. Also, school-average HP explains less variance in reading achievement than other variables considered. Conclusions recognize the benefits of the HP index but emphasize the need for ongoing examination of the most appropriate methods of identification.

 

Gilleece, L., & McHugh, G. (2022). Validating school-based measures of educational disadvantage in Ireland. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30 (169). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.7245

Beyond achievement: home, school and wellbeing findings from PISA 2018 for students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools

This report is a follow-up to the ERC’s 2020 report Reading, Mathematics and Science Achievement in DEIS schools: Evidence from PISA 2018 (Gilleece, Nelis, Fitzgerald, & Cosgrove, 2020) which detailed the reading, mathematics and science achievement of students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Achievement levels of students in DEIS schools were examined with reference to the targets set out in the national strategy to improve literacy and numeracy (DES, 2011). 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 was 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. Average mathematics and science scores of students in DEIS schools were also significantly below those of students in non-DEIS schools. This report builds on the earlier work by providing a detailed examination of differences in the home backgrounds of students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Also, we give consideration to some school contextual factors and examine broader student outcomes and dispositions, such as wellbeing, the value that students place on education, their motivation, and aspirations for future learning and employment. In focusing on the wider picture, we recognise that while achievement in reading, mathematics and science represent important outcomes of schooling, they offer a partial view of the purposes and outcomes of education.

Reading, mathematics and science achievement in DEIS schools: Evidence from PISA 2018

The ERC publishes a periodic newsletter, eolas ón ERC, to keep stakeholders updated on research publications, ongoing projects in schools and standardised testing.