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Education

Reading and maths grades continue to improve in DEIS schools — report

Gains throughout the lifetime of the program are ‘consistent’, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said.

GRADE LEVELS IN reading and mathematics continue to improve in schools implementing the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme, according to a new report from the Educational Research Centre.

The report focuses on results achieved in 119 disadvantaged urban primary schools, with 17,000 students from 2nd to 6th class surveyed.

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Click here to see a larger version of this graph. (Image Credit: ERC)

It says that results in reading and mathematics “significantly improved” since the previous evaluation in 2011.

The number of “very low achieving pupils” also decreased over the six years, reducing the number of the national average of 10 per cent.

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Click here to view a larger version of the graph. (Image Credit: ERC)

A fall of 3.7 per cent was seen in the number of pupils absent from school, down from 2007 to 7.1 per cent.

Commenting on the report, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn called the results “very encouraging”.

They show that the significant investment that we make in these schools is paying off and pupils’ reading and mathematics test scores are consistently improving.

The scheme, first introduced in 2006, is aimed at ensuring “that the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities are prioritised and effectively addressed” through a range teaching supports and an altered curriculum.

It is currently active in 685 primary and 194 post-primary schools.

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