Assessments of Literacy Learning in Ireland

Literacy in Secondary School in Ireland

The literacy curriculum in secondary school in Ireland is based on a strategy of language-related lesson modifications, identified by Peregoy and Boyle as good methods of ensuring that differentiation occurs in the classroom. This strategy allows for the use of "visuals, concrete objects, direct experience, and other nonverbal means to convey lesson content" alongside the main lesson taught by the teacher in the classroom (Peregoy, Boyle 86). In my area, this is consistent with what we experienced in school, and differentiation is a huge part of the cycle -- as much of what is centered on literacy is done so with direct relation to experiential learning, the use of visual aids, and the expression of ideas identified in readings via nonverbal means, such as drawings, videos or performance in the classroom. At the same time, there is a notable urgency among literacy leaders and proponents in Ireland to do even more for literacy students in schools, as the speech by the Minister of Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn in 2011 shows. Quinn emphasized that "more and better services" need to be provided in schools via a "key commitment on the development and implementation of a national literacy strategy" that is based on a "public consultation process" that will provide a national strategy on literacy through 2020 (Quinn 5). Quinn assured audiences in 2011 that ample funds would be earmarked for the development of this strategy with the primary aim being "to ensure that teachers and schools maintain a strong focus on literacy ... within a broad and balanced curriculum" (Department of Education and Skills Press Release). This paper will discuss what this strategy consists of.

No strategy is effective without specific aims and methods of assessment, as Gottlieb has indicated. The aims in our school are for the student to develop an appreciation and enjoyment of literacy that includes reading and writing, a sense of how language is communicated in both written and oral forms, comprehension skills, an understanding of grammar, and the ability to write for specific audiences. These aims are considered essential in the arena of literacy. The methods of assessment that are used by the school include self-assessment, which is a process whereby the learner engages in reflection and sets about providing in a written or oral form a review of what he/she has learned in the class; assessment of learning, which is based on the use of criteria and rubrics given by the teacher to the student so that the student knows what is expected of him/her and what the student must achieve in order to gain a passing score for the class or to show that learning has taken place. This method of assessment includes using review sheets and formal evaluations (tests, exams) and written portfolios.

The subjects that are deemed important to classes focused on literacy in the school include reading, writing, speaking, grammar, and language arts skills (such as rhetoric, debate, etc.). Each of these is given an equal weight in the school and no one subject is preferred over the other. The main goal is for the concept of literacy to come across as important to the student so that when he or she graduates from secondary school, the students will continue to learn on their own.

The effect on how criteria is thought in the classroom is that students are challenged to embrace expectations and push themselves to reach the level that the school sets in store for them. So for example if a student is reading at an 8th grade level but is in the 12th grade, the teacher expects that the student will be able to read, comprehend, and write about a 12th grade level reading by the end of the year. The teacher sets these expectations out at the beginning of the year and supports them with affirmations from those made by the Department of Education and Skills, which has been shown to be determined to increase literacy among students so as to ensure that they are able to successfully apply for work and obtain jobs in Ireland, which is already economically suffering. Thus, literacy is valued highly in schools and the teachers set about reminding students of that.

The teachers have encountered some issues with how students assess; for instance, with self-assessment, they have found that validity and reliability are difficult to achieve and there is equal need for formal assessment, such as evaluations, exams, and tests. However, teachers like self-assessment because it puts the onus on the students to step forward and take responsibility for their own education, and to be honest with themselves about how they are doing. It is more about accepting accountability than it is about actually showing improvement, which is one of the issues. So teachers also use standardized testing in order to evaluate progress in literacy, and this makes up for the issues of validity and reliability in the self-assessment portions.

The teachers have a particular method of teaching the students about literacy, which is based primarily on reading and comprehension and also on in-class discussions about what is read, so there is active involvement on the part of students and teachers together at the same time; students are encouraged to participate in class and teachers ask questions in the manner of the Socratic method in order to facilitate comprehension and logic building thought processes. Teachers will also differentiate lessons by using visuals and experiential learning, by challenging students to read signs in public and not grammatical mistakes that persons make in print or in various professional media, and if students find mistakes they receive credit in the classroom when they bring them in to share with the class.

Problems that might be encountered through the year include the fact that not every student is on the same level of literacy in the classroom, so some might be far advanced while others are behind the curve and need to catch up; this weighs on the pace of the class, as the teacher is torn between teaching to advanced students and helping less advanced students catch up. So there is a discernible gap between where the teacher would like to be and where the teacher has to be for the sake of everyone in the class reaching the same level by the end of the year.