Last year the Department of Education and Science introduced Standardised testing for all children in 1^st class and 4^th class.  The purpose of this is to obtain an overview of Maths and English standards throughout the country.

For the last number of years the children of St Fintan’s N.S. have been given standardised tests at the end of each year from 1^st class to 6^th class for the purpose of indentifying children who might need learning support.

Though mandatory for 1^st to 4^th classes we shall be informing the parents of all children tested of the results of these tests which were carried out during May.  The tests administered were the Drumcondra test in English and Maths.  Both these tests were designed for Irish children by The Drumcondra Education Research Centre and have been in use for many years in Irish Schools.

Interpreting the results of these tests can be done in various ways and we will be informing parents of the results giving the Standard score and STen score from these tests.  Standard scores usually range from 55 to 145 with the average score being 100.  STen scores are derived from Standard scores and give a ten point scale with 1 representing the lowest category and 10 the highest.

The following tables explain these:

Interpreting Standard Scores:

Standard Score Range                      Descriptor                              Coverage

130 and above                                     Well above average                 2% of   pupils

120-129                                               Above average                        7% of   pupils

110-119                                               High average                           16% of  pupils

90-109                                                 Average                                   50% of  pupils

80-89                                                   Low average                           16% of  pupils

70-79                                                   Below average                                    2% of    pupils

Below 70                                             Well below average                 2% of   pupils

Interpreting STen Scores:

Standard Score Range               STen Score Range  Descriptor                  Coverage

116 and above                        8-10                 Well above average     Top 1/6 of pupils 

108-114                                   7                      High average                1/6 of pupils

93-107                                     5-6                   average                                     Middle 1/3 of pupils

85-92                                       4                      Low average                1/6 of pupils

84 and below                           1-3                   Well below average     Bottom 1/6 of pupils            

Children may not always perform as well as expected in these tests for a variety of reasons e.g. exam fright, illness or poor form on the day, difficulty of working on their own for a long period etc.  While important, the results from Standardised tests should not be taken in isolation and should be understood in conjunction with teacher observations, teacher designed tasks and tests and the child’s general progress.