Student assessment programme lays bare potential weaknesses

The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) gives a valuable snapshot on how Ireland's students measure up against those in 44 other countries. Pisa lays bare potential weaknesses and informs those formulating policy on how they can adjust the educational system to improve standards.

The tests are run every third year and are the same for every country, but each country takes charge of its own testing.

Here staff from the Educational Research Centre within the Department of Education and Skills organise the tests and produce a report for the department. The Irish statistics are forwarded to the OECD so it can put together a final collated report across all 28 OECD countries and the wider 44 participating countries group.

The most recent tests were given in 2012, the year the OECD first included computer-based problem solving as an optional assessment under Pisa. The test lasts about 40 minutes and students are asked to solve common problems.

One asked the students to use an automated ticket machine to buy a particular combinations of tickets. Another asked the student to work out how to operate an air conditioning unit without the benefit of instructions. A third asked the student to use a map to find the quickest route between two points.

There are really two aspects to the tests. One is the problem itself, can the student understand the question, follow instructions and then use the interactive screen to solve it. The other is whether the student has the experience and competence to use a computer in this way.

The students are told how to set and reset the computer to solve the question, for example clicking on a road to chose it then clicking it again to reject it. But there is no doubt that if a student does not have the benefit of a computer at home then they will be at an immediate disadvantage with the technology.

Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn said as much today when commenting on the results.

A student’s lack of familiarity with using computers may have contributed to the Irish results being no better than average, he said.

This has been quantified by the Irish report’s authors Rachel Perkins and Gerry Shiel. They found the problem solving performance of students here was 18.7 points lower than might have been expected given their good performance in the print-based assessments of their skills in maths, reading and science.

The challenge is to separate the two aspects, problem-solving ability versus lack of familiarity with use of computers in a school-based assessment.

Either way Mr Quinn believes problem-solving will improve here as more students complete the revised junior cycle curriculum Project Maths, which places a greater emphasis on problem-solving.

The teachers’ unions however remain concerned that there will be no improvement until students benefit from having up-to-date computer facilities and high speed broadband connections in every school.