Thousands of pupils face new tests in the 'basics' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 17 March 2010
MORE than 55,000 secondary school students will have to sit new tests in English, Irish and maths -- most likely at age 13.
A confidential report calls for standardised tests to find out what students are learning in the early stages of their secondary schooling.
The report also outlines worries about grade inflation in the Junior Cert, the Irish Independent can reveal.
It says many students awarded a D or higher grade do not have enough knowledge of maths that would be sufficient to meet their future needs in education and later life
The introduction of the tests is seen as an inevitable and imminent step in the reform of the Junior Cert, although there is no specific timeframe as yet.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Staff Only: Paddy's Day with the sex bomb, the Irish teacher and Tom Jones [Independent.ie]
- Published: 17 March 2010
'Buama gnéas, buama gnéas, is tusa mo bhuama gnéas," rings out down the corridor, as I approach yesterday's last class, panting with the effort of having survived another day's punishment at the hands of the youth of Ireland, my only goal to collapse on a chair regardless of how many drawing pins await my buttocks.
So who is this sex bomb, this benefactor of Tom Jones' touching tribute to love? Singing ' Sex Bomb' in Irish, this being Seachtain na Gaeilge, seems a nice touch, but when I see who the raucous, and now in fits of laughter, singer is, I nearly drop my books and my duster in shock. It's none other than the hitherto paradigm of studious piety, Madison.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
John Walshe: Time to rekindle switched-off youngsters' love of learning [Independent.ie]
- Published: 17 March 2010
THE Junior Cert exam is little more than a 'dry run' for the Leaving for most students at present.
It's what the educational experts call a 'low-stakes' exam, with limited value.
And it clearly does not bother students too much until third year when, as one of them told ESRI researchers last year: "You've to knuckle down."
More worrying, however, is the finding from the same ESRI study that most students make no progress in reading and maths in the first year of secondary school, while some actually go backwards.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
All pupils are entitled to a rounded education [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 17 March 2010
In Saturday's Belfast Telegraph (March 13) it was suggested, among other things, that I was critical of our Education Minister for scrapping the transfer test.
I was never a fan of the 11-Plus examination and I am glad to see it go (although I do see selection as inevitable - it's part of life - but it can be done in a better, more equitable way).
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Gaelgeoirs are the elite -- but thousands are saying 'Ní hea' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 17 March 2010
Irish language activists will celebrate St Patrick's Day and the end of Seachtain na Gaeilge today with mixed feelings.
In certain areas the language is booming, driven by the growth in the number of Gaelscoileanna and a brighter, sexier image in the media.
On the minus side, there is a large section of the population that treats the learning of the language in school as a monumental waste of time.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
