Exploring the influence of standardised assessment in the Irish primary school context: Key actor perspectives

Standardised assessment constitutes a topic of much debate across education systems internationally owing to its uses and influences within the classroom context and beyond. Discussion in this area is perhaps most fervent in countries where high-stakes are attached to the results obtained from this form of assessment for decision making purposes and resource allocation at policy level. Although the stakes attached to standardised test results within the Irish context are not as extreme as is the case elsewhere, recent developments in the landscape of assessment in Ireland provide clear evidence of progression in this regard. This qualitative study aims to explore the influence of standardised assessment within the Irish primary school context from the informed perspectives of teachers and school leaders, as well as key actors in the area. This multi-perspective approach facilitates a comprehensive investigation into the impact of this form of assessment on national and school policy, as well as teachers’ practice and the learning experiences and well-being of pupils. Employing a two-stage survey methodology, data was initially obtained from teachers and school leaders in Galway city and county through the use of anonymous online qualitative questionnaires. In order to probe emerging themes within the data in more depth, semi-structured interviewing was subsequently employed with a subset of participants. The findings of this study indicate that standardised assessment exerts a multitude of influences, both positive and negative in nature, within the primary school context in Ireland. At policy level, key findings highlight how national and school-based decisions directly influence teaching and learning strategies in schools, determining the manner in which the test results are communicated to parents and, in cases, resulting in questionable practices being introduced in order to inflate and/or deflate test results. At teacher level, it was found that the diagnostic value of the assessments for planning differentiated learning experiences was perceived as a positive aspect. However, concerns were also noted in relation to the pressures that teachers can face when using this form of assessment, the perceived lack of reassurance from the Department regarding their usage of the test results and the manner in which this form of assessment is used for both formal and informal educational purposes outside of their primary function. Lastly, when considering the influence of this form of assessment on pupils, it was found that struggles relating to well-being constituted a key theme within the data obtained. Other significant findings which arose in this regard included the motivational and competitive aspects relating to standardised testing and how this form of assessment disproportionately impacts pupils with SEN. The study then ends with implications and recommendations derived from these conclusions.

Publisher

NUI Galway

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IE

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Collections

University of Galway Theses (PhD Theses)