Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012
348. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to the proposed junior certificate assessment by teachers, if he any procedures have been put in place to ensure teachers are not assessing pupils who are their own children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48172/12]
View answerThe revised assessment proposals rely on the professionalism of teachers. Principals and teachers will receive comprehensive professional development in educational assessment, including processes of moderation, and providing feedback to students. Assessment arrangements in schools will be subject to internal moderation to ensure that proper procedures are followed in all cases. Principals will have to formally confirm that moderation procedures were followed. Final assessment at the end of the three years is just one element of a broader school based approach to assessment.
The NCCA is developing an assessment and moderation toolkit which will provide teachers with assessment materials for classroom use, and will support the design of class and school assessment. It will also offer guidelines on in-school moderation, and show how professional dialogue between teachers in a school (and, where a teacher is the only teacher of a subject, between schools) can ensure that there is a shared and common understanding of the standards of work expected. The new forms of assessment will be phased in over eight years to give schools, students and parents the opportunity to gain confidence in and have an understanding of the new assessment system.
The results awarded on every School Certificate will be sent to my Department. My Department will monitor the national and school patterns along with the results in the standardised testing of reading, Mathematics and Science. This monitoring will provide further quality assurance and identify any local or national anomalies. A report on overall trends will be published regularly. I am confident that these arrangements are robust for all contexts, including where teachers may be assessing their own children, given the low stakes nature of the assessment envisaged in the new Framework for Junior Cycle.
