Joanne Kiniry

Role/Grade: Research Associate
Team – Test Development
Research Interest
- Assessment Development
- Cognitive basis of reading comprehension
- Reading comprehension assessment
- Literacy development
- Accessible assessment
- Online Assessment
- Large scale assessments
- The role of assessment in policy development

Joanne is a Research Associate specialising in reading literacy and assessment development. She has made substantial contributions to the Educational Research Centre’s National Assessments, contributing to the 2009 and 2014 cycles and, as project manager, leading the 2021 National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER).

She has also played a role in the development of many other assessments, including the Drumcondra Post-Primary Tests (DPPT-READ, DPPT-MATHS) and the Drumcondra Tests of Early Literacy and Numeracy (DTEL, DTEN 2008). She is a member of the international FLIP+ working group to develop an online library of items that test English language proficiency.

Her principal research interests include the development and assessment of reading comprehension, with a focus on the theoretical foundations that underpin its measurement. Her work aims to ensure the construction of valid, meaningful, accessible and reliable assessments that contribute to teaching and learning.

In parallel with her role at the ERC, Joanne is undertaking doctoral studies at Dublin City University’s Institute of Education, where she explores the cognitive foundations of reading comprehension in children using large-scale assessment data.

She holds a BA in Applied Psychology from University College Cork and an MSc in Global Health from Trinity College Dublin.