The 2021 National Assessments of English Reading and Mathematics (NAMER) Context Report offers a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing achievement in Second class English reading and Sixth class maths in Ireland. Due to pandemic-related disruptions, NAMER 2021 was postponed from 2020 and adapted to reduce the testing burden. Pupils had experienced approximately two months of remote teaching prior to returning to face-to-face instruction in March 2021.
Drawing on data from questionnaires administered to pupils, teachers, and school principals, this report situates performance outcomes within broader educational and socio-economic settings. Key variables examined include, pupil background, language, instructional time and homework, teacher professional development, digital practices in school and home, and school factors such as school gender, planning and COVID-19 impact.
Recommendations stress the need to build on existing good practice in schools as well as the strengthening initiatives to improve liking and confidence in reading and mathematics.
This report is aimed at informing the work of teachers, school leaders, teacher educators, and curriculum developers in Ireland. It describes in detail the performance of Fourth Class (primary) and Second Year (post-primary) students on a range of mathematics and science topics and test items. In interpreting the data presented here from the TIMSS 2019 study (the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), students’ performance is discussed with reference to relevant aspects of the Irish curricula for mathematics and science, and to international comparisons of student performance.
The findings presented here build on the initial national report on TIMSS 2019 (Perkins & Clerkin, 2020), which described student performance in mathematics and science in terms of average achievement, distributions of achievement among higher- and lower-achieving students, gender differences, benchmarks of performance (Low, Intermediate, High, or Advanced), and high-level
descriptions of performance on the TIMSS cognitive and content domains. This report expands on the latter aspect by providing a detailed examination of Fourth Class and Second Year students’ performance on the TIMSS content domains and, in particular, on their constituent subdomains and topic areas.
Associated e-appendices
Flyers
Strengths and Weaknesses in Maths and Science at Fourth Class
Strengths and Weaknesses in Maths and Science at Second Year
The National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) aims to provide a snapshot of the mathematical and reading skills of Second and Sixth class pupils in Ireland, to identify areas of strength and weakness, and to inform educational policy and practice. Originally planned for administration in Spring 2020, NAMER was overtaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic led to extended school closures and the postponement of the National Assessments by a year. By the time NAMER was administered in May 2021, schools had been shut for a total of 96 days in the preceding two school years.
The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, originally published in 2011, set out performance targets for 2020 which were surpassed in the 2014 National Assessment. New performance targets in literacy and numeracy were set for 2020 in 2017. Although NAMER 2021 took place during a period of considerable upheaval in schools and society as a whole, the study provides an opportunity to monitor performance with reference to these targets.
