The 1998 decision not to publish league tables for secondary schools has been labelled "extreme" by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey.
Speaking at an OECD meeting of education ministers at Dublin Castle this afternoon, Mr Dempsey said that parents have a right to information about school performaces.
"We made a decision in 1998 that we were not going to allow the use of league tables. I think that was right but I think it was probably an extreme position.
"I think we need to rethink how we publish information because there's the question of parents having a right to know what's happening in schools."
Mr Dempsey said more than just exam results should be taken into account when considering the performance of individual schools. "I would be against simplified league tables based on points in the Leaving Cert or the printing of lists of the numbers that went to which universities from which schools."
The Director General of the OECD Education Committee, Mr Barry McGaw, said opinion was divided among member countries as to whether it was advantageous to publish information regarding the performance of schools. He said that while countries were often willing to provide the information to schools, they opposed the practice of publicly releasing such information.
Mr McGaw concluded it was clear the publication of such material required careful consideration.
The two-day forum, entitled Raising the Quality of Learning for All concludes this evening.