Ninth Level Ireland

“One of the more interesting aspects of the media coverage of the 2018 PISA results is that there was little or no coverage of the fact that our science scores declined for the second time in a row. Whereas, our score was 522 in 2016, it’s now 496. Given the hype around STEM and the huge amount of time and resources devoted to getting students to ‘engage’ with STEM, that does seem a little ironic. Or perhaps it’s not …” (more)

[An Irish Blog about Education, 9 December]

“Irish students remain among the best readers in the developed world, an assessment of almost 600,000 students has found. However, ‘a challenge remains’ in supporting students to achieve the highest scores in maths and science, with relative improvements to be made in both subjects …” (more)

[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 3 December]

“Teenagers in Ireland are among the top performers in the world in reading literacy, according to latest international standardised test scores. Irish 15-year-olds also perform above average in science and maths, according to the Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) test results which were conducted last year …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 3 December]

“The last round of PISA results suggested that we should be pretty proud of our education system here in Ireland. But a couple of recent studies suggest that maybe we’re not as ‘effective’ as we might think …” (more)

[educationandstuff, 20 February]

“Children return to school today after the Christmas break and for many of those in third year the mock Junior Certificate exams are only weeks away. The recent OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results were good news for Ireland, showing our 15 year olds are doing well in reading, maths and science in comparison with many other countries …” (more)

[Frank Milling, Irish Times, 9 January]

“Every three years, half a million 15-year-olds in more than 70 countries take a two-hour test designed to measure their ability to think. The release of the OECD’s Pisa rankings is a revealing moment for twitchy politicians and nervous civil servants …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 3 January]

“A new literacy strategy introduced in schools in 2012 is showing positive results, but what more is needed to reach top of the class …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 15 December]

“No doubt twitchy politicians and nervous bureaucrats are still digesting the triennial OECD test scores on international educational achievement. From all the media coverage, one thing is abundantly clear: this arithmetic continues its rise as vehicle of choice for social, economic and cultural improvement worldwide …” (more)

[James Conroy, The Conversation, 14 December]

“The first media response to the recent PISA results was Breda O Brien’s article in the Irish Times. Unfortunately, her profile is such that many people will automatically dismiss her arguments, which are actually very well made, as just another example of right wing ideology …” (more)

[educationandstuff, 11 December]

“We are notoriously fond of seeing our achievements up in lights on the global stage.So, one might have expected a bigger fuss made about the impressive performance of Ireland’s 15-year-old students in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results, published on Tuesday …” (more)

[Davin O’Dwyer, Irish Times, 9 December]

“The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has described the findings of the PISA 2015 study as an endorsement of the high quality work of Irish teachers and students at a time of hugely damaging cuts to education. In all three areas which were examined, the scores of Irish students were significantly above the OECD average …” (more)

[Teachers’ Union of Ireland, 6 December]

“The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development believes that its project to measure student learning outcomes around the world – billed as a university equivalent of its Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests for schools – could have gone ahead if the UK had signed up …” (more)

[John Morgan, Times Higher Education, 21 September]

“Girls outperformed boys in 50 of 58 Leaving Cert papers across higher and ordinary level, according to a gender analysis of this year’s results. This is part of a recurring pattern – and not just in Ireland. But why is this the case? …” (more)

[Aoife Valentine, Irish Times, 15 August]

“Doubts now raised over future of project billed as having potential to shake up hierarchy of world higher education. England will not take part in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s project to measure learning outcomes of graduates around the world, delivering a blow to the plan …” (more)

[John Morgan, Times Higher Education, 15 July]

“So there’s some excitement being generated this month with respect to the OECD’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO). Roughly speaking, AHELO is the higher education equivalent of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) …” (more)

[Alex Usher, HESA, 21 May]

“Minister of State with responsibility for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD, has welcomed The Learning Curve – Education and Skills for Life report which was recently published by education company Pearson …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 21 May]

“Teachers need to take ownership of their own profession if Ireland is to keep pace with the progress of Asian countries in comparative test scores, a leading educational expert has warned …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 15 May]

“Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn is ‘overly negative’ about the quality of teaching and learning in Irish schools and is contributing to low morale in the classroom, the president of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation has said …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 21 April]

“Only 11% of second-level teachers believe their school has good capacity to implement the Minister’s new Framework for Junior Cycle in September 2014, a survey by Millward Brown has found …” (more)

[ASTI, 16 April]

“Job satisfaction among secondary school teachers has dropped sharply in the past five years, with administrative work and school evaluations among the biggest gripes. Only 44% of respondents in a survey published today said they were quite satisfied or very satisfied with their work …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 16 April]