Vol. 518 No. 4
76 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps, if any, he will take to implement a literacy initiative with routine liter acy testing at three distinct stages in primary education which would be the basis for benchmarking and comparative analysis of performance nationally and locally and for the design of improvement strategies. [11828/00]
Teacher estimates derived from the national reading surveys indicate that nearly 10% of pupils in fifth class at primary level have serious literacy difficulties. Tackling this serious problem for our young children is one of the top priorities for me, as Minister.
The vast majority of primary schools already engage in annual assessments of their pupils' reading using standardised tests. There is a deep understanding among teachers already of the importance of regular assessment of their pupils' achievements. To date, schools have mainly used test results for reporting to parents and for the identification of pupils with reading difficulties.
I am exploring ways of making a wider range of assessment instruments available to primary schools to assist them in their work. As a first step I am providing all schools with copies of the Drumcondra English Profiles before the end of the present school year. These instruments will be used in addition to standardised norm-referenced tests to enable teachers to build up a profile of each pupil's strengths and weaknesses. The use of the profiles will enable teachers to plan reading, writing and language programmes to suit the individual needs of each pupil. Training in the use of the profiles will be provided as part of the support programme for the implementation of the revised primary curriculum.
I also intend to conduct a programme of national surveys of English reading at primary level on a regular basis, in conjunction with the Educational Research Centre, Drumcondra. I will continue the series of surveys at fifth class level and extend the programme to include pupils at second/third class level.
The use of particular standardised tests by schools and the system of profiling pupil achievements in English combined, will be the basis for the benchmarking and comparative analysis of performance nationally and locally to which the Deputy refers.
