Madam, - Jan O'Sullivan, Labour's spokesperson on education, in her article on the need to overhaul the mathematics curriculum in post-primary schools (August 21st), is incorrect in asserting that, according to the OECD, Irish students' performance in mathematics and science is below average.
In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2000 and 2003, Irish 15-year-olds achieved average scores in mathematics that were not significantly different from the corresponding OECD average scores, while, in the same years, average scores of Irish 15-year- olds in science were significantly higher. In both years, our 15-year-olds also achieved average scores in reading literacy that were significantly above the OECD average scores for that domain.
These findings raise the question, why is performance in mathematics merely at average level, when our students achieve above average performance in reading literacy and science? One reason may be that the mathematics taught in post-primary schools differs in important ways from what is assessed in PISA mathematics. Despite the implementation from 2000 onwards of a revised mathematics syllabus at Junior Cycle level, mathematics continues to be presented as disconnected and decontextualised procedural and conceptual knowledge. This contrasts with PISA mathematics, which assesses students' ability to solve problems set in real-life contexts. Currently, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is reviewing mathematics in post-primary education, and the outcomes of PISA mathematics (and its underlying assessment framework) are contributing to this review.
A second reason relates to the performance of Ireland's higher-achieving students in PISA. In 2003, 11.3 per cent of Irish students performed at Levels 5 and 6 (the highest levels) on the PISA combined mathematics proficiency scale, compared with an OECD average of 16.6 per cent. Hence, our higher achievers are underperforming in mathematics (as assessed by PISA), relative to their counterparts in other developed countries.
Ms O'Sullivan's concerns with the performance of lower-achievers in Leaving Certificate ordinary level mathematics, and with the content and procedures underlying mathematics curricula at post-primary level, seem well founded. However, we also need to ensure that our higher-achieving students perform better. In addition to the benefits that might result for the individuals and for society, it is likely that our mathematics performance in studies such as PISA would also improve. - Yours, etc,
GERRY SHIEL, Educational Research Centre, St Patrick's College, Dublin 9.