National Assessments (NAMER)
The National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) have been designed, implemented and reported on by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) at the request of the Department of Education since 1972. While earlier National Assessments covered various class levels and domains, the Department of Education decided that, from 2009, National Assessments would assess Mathematics and English Reading at both Second and Sixth class.
NAMER assessments are based on the Irish Primary School Mathematics and English Curricula and are developed by the ERC in conjunction with subject matter experts and teachers. NAMER is conducted at the end of the school year because it aims to measure pupils’ achievement in Mathematics and English Reading at the end of the Junior and Senior cycles at primary level.
The National Assessments are secure tests (i.e. they are not available to teachers and schools). They are standardised using a national sample (i.e., among a group of pupils from all over the country that reflect the wider population). For each cycle of NAMER, a small proportion of reading comprehension passages and test questions are retired. These are replaced with new comprehension passages and questions, which are pre-tested at the end of the school year preceding the administration of the assessments with a smaller number of pupils. As well as measuring pupils’ achievement on the assessments, contextual information is gathered through the administration of questionnaires to pupils, parents/guardians, teachers and principals.
Typically, two reports are published for NAMER after each cycle. One report focuses on the results for pupil achievement in Mathematics and English Reading. The second report focuses on the impact of contextual information (e.g., about the home, classroom, or school) on pupil achievement.
NAMER reports published by the ERC can be accessed here
Why is NAMER carried out?
In contrast to other standardised tests that are administered to primary school pupils at the end of each school year (such as the Drumcondra Primary Reading Test), NAMER does not aim to make inferences about how well individual pupils are performing. Instead, NAMER assesses how well Irish pupils are doing overall. The goal of NAMER is not to track individual pupil performance but to record general trends at the national level and how different groups are performing overall (e.g., girls compared to boys). These results provide important information for policymakers on all primary school pupils in Ireland. The accompanying questionnaires provide context for this data. For example, what home behaviours or teacher strategies are associated with Mathematics and English Reading performance? NAMER is also used to understand Mathematics and English Reading skill – for example, what types of questions do Irish pupils in general find easy or difficult? This type of knowledge can be used to inform curriculum development and future test development as well as classroom teaching practices
How are students assessed?
A representative sample of schools is selected, reflecting the same mixture of schools by size, location, type, and gender and socioeconomic composition that is found across Ireland. In 2021, for the first time, the design of NAMER incorporated an increased sample of DEIS schools to make robust comparisons on the achievements of pupils in DEIS and non-DEIS schools.
Schools are asked to nominate a staff member to act as NAMER coordinator and liaise with the ERC throughout the project. Tests of Mathematics and English Reading are administered to pupils of selected Second and Sixth classes, along with questionnaires which gather contextual information. Questionnaires are also administered to teachers of selected classes, parents and school principals. Identification numbers are used to link pupil assessments with questionnaires so that the learning environment can be better understood. Department of Education Inspectors oversee test administration in a sample of schools.
Some pupils may be exempted from NAMER. However, it is important that we assess a representative group of pupils. Therefore, we ask that any pupil that could take part should be allowed to do so.
National Advisory Committee
The implementation of NAMER is overseen by an advisory committee, which advises on all major aspects of the study. This includes the review of test instruments and questionnaires and providing input into national reporting.
National Advisory Committee
| Name | Study |
|---|---|
| Maria McGrath | Department of Education and Youth (Chair) |
| Aedín Ní Thuathail | IPPN |
| Áine Lynch | NPC – Primary |
| Cormac Ó Tuairisg | Gaeloideachas |
| Eddie Fox | Educate Together |
| Marc Bohan | Department of Education and Youth |
| Máirín Ní Chéileachair | INTO |
| Micheál Kililea | Department of Education and Youth |
| Patrick Sullivan | National Council for Curriculum and Assessment |
| Rory Collins | OIDE |
| Seán Delaney | Marino |
NAMER 2009 and 2014
From 2009 onwards, the National Assessments of English Reading (NAER) and Mathematics (NAM) were administered at the same time and became known as the National Assessment of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER). For the first time, pupils in Second and Sixth classes took part in two tests – one each for Mathematics and English Reading. This provided a clear picture of how well pupils were performing in Mathematics and English Reading near the beginning and at the end of primary school. Questionnaires were administered to school principals, class teachers, pupils, and their parents/guardians to gather contextual information. This information was used to better understand what factors inside and outside of the classroom might influence pupils’ achievement.
Earlier National Assessments
Prior to 2009, Mathematics and English Reading were assessed separately as the National Assessment of Mathematics [Achievement] (NAM/NAMA) and the National Assessment of English Reading (NAER). These assessments took place at different grade levels in different years. NAMA took place in 2004 and 1999 at Fourth class only. NAER took place in 2004 and 1998 at both First and Fifth classes. Contextual information about participating schools, teachers, pupils and their parent/guardians were collected. In 2004, information on the views of Inspectors who visited a sample of participating schools were also gathered via a questionnaire.
Assessment Frameworks
Assessment Frameworks are used to guide the design of National Assessments and to maintain consistency in assessments over time. Assessment frameworks outline the skills (e.g., reasoning, inference), and content knowledge (e.g., number, vocabulary) that the assessment intends to measure. This ensures that the assessment reflects the primary curriculum for Mathematics and English Reading.
Assessment Frameworks can change over time but typically they will remain consistent across years to allow comparison of National Assessment results over time.
2021
- The Mathematics framework for NAMER 2021 is the same as the 2009/2014 frameworks (see below).
The English reading framework for NAMER 2021 built on the 2009/2014 frameworks in response to the changes to the Primary Language Curriculum/Curaclam Teanga na Bunscoile (PLC/CTB) (Department of Education and Skills, 2019).
- Assessment Framework for English Reading is available in Chapter 2 of the NAMER 2021 Performance Report.
2009 and 2014
The same assessment frameworks first developed in 2009 were also used in 2014.
2004
The school principals in participating schools are also asked to complete a questionnaire that askes about school management, resources, policies and practices. In each cycle of the study, the ERC develops a national questionnaire for teachers or subject coordinators who teach the ‘major domain’. As science is the major domain, or main focus, of the assessment in 2025, science coordinators or science department heads in each participating school will be asked to complete this questionnaire which asks about the organisation of science learning within the school. For PISA 2022, teachers and coordinators of mathematics were invited to complete a questionnaire.
GDPR
All data related to NAMER are collected in accordance with the Data Protection and Statistics Acts and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The confidentiality and anonymity of participants is very important. Information on an individual school will only ever be provided to that school and will never be released to other schools or individuals. Information on individual teachers, students and parents will never be released.
For more information on the ERC’s data protection policy, click here.
