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High stakes testing and student perspectives on teaching and learning in the Republic of Ireland

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Abstract

There is now a well developed literature on the impact of high stakes testing on teaching approaches and student outcomes. However, the student perspective has been neglected in much research. This article draws on a mixed method longitudinal study of secondary students in the Republic of Ireland to explore the impact of two sets of high stakes examinations on student experiences. The analyses are based on surveys completed by 897 lower secondary students and 748 upper secondary students, along with 47 lower secondary and 53 upper secondary group interviews with students. Findings show the presence of impending high stakes exams results in increased workload for students, with many reporting pressure and stress. Throughout their schooling career, students clearly favour active learning approaches. However, for some students, particularly high-aspiring middle-class students, these views change as they approach the terminal high stakes exam, with many showing a strong preference for a more narrowly focussed approach to exam preparation. This article highlights how students shift from a position of critiquing exam-focused teaching methods as inauthentic to accepting such methods as representing ‘good teaching’.

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Notes

  1. This is not to imply that social reproduction does not occur when other forms of assessment are used. A large body of research points to the way in which middle-class families seek to promote the educational attainment of their children through a diverse range of strategies, including selecting particular types of schools, curricular programmes and/or subject areas which are seen as prestigious (see, for example, Lucas 2001 on ‘effectively maintained inequality’).

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Acknowledgments

The study on which this article is based was funded by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Department for Education and Skills. The authors are extremely grateful to Anne Looney and John Hammond of the NCCA for their support throughout the study. We would also like to thank participants at an AERA symposium, particularly the discussant, Jim Deegan, for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.

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  1. Economic and Social Research Institute, Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Emer Smyth & Joanne Banks

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  1. Emer Smyth
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Correspondence to Emer Smyth.

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Smyth, E., Banks, J. High stakes testing and student perspectives on teaching and learning in the Republic of Ireland. Educ Asse Eval Acc 24, 283–306 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-012-9154-6

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