The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, is set to accelerate his plans to reform radically the Leaving Certificate exam.
But the ASTI said last night it would "vehemently" oppose any plan which would see teachers assessing their own pupils.
Mr Dempsey, who has described the Leaving Cert as an exam rooted in the last century, is set to press ahead with his plans after a public forum on the future of the exam next month.
But it is already known that he favours a wide-ranging overhaul of the exam format. This is thought to include:
Greater use of continuous assessment,
More emphasis on project work,
More practical elements especially in science subjects.
Last night the ASTI's deputy general secretary, Mr John White, said his union would not tolerate any shift to continuous assessment. "Teachers are proud of their role as supporters of their pupils. They do not want to be seen to be tripping them up," he added.
The ASTI also believes any switch to continuous assessment could see teachers coming under undue pressure from parents and others. But its proponents argue that the use of continuous assessment - for up to 25 per cent of the marks in some subjects - would help to ease the stress on students to perform in one terminal exam.
Vocal opposition from virtually all delegates to continuous assessment has been a feature of ASTI conferences in recent years. Mr White said the union could only consider a form of "external" continuous assessment which retained widespread public credibility.
Education sources say Mr Dempsey now regards reform of the Leaving and the effort to combat disadvantage as the biggest issues facing the education system. He has said openly: "Why are we still unable to provide students in post-primary schools with an assessment system that reflects the aims of the syllabuses they study, and the insights of research into how and why people learn?"
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which will host the forum on the exam next month, recently completed a discussion paper on the senior cycle at second level. This raises the idea that some aspects of Transition Year and Leaving Cert Applied programmes, such as the use of more project work, could be integrated into the established Leaving Cert exam.
Educationalists would like to see the exam reshaped, with less emphasis on regurgitating material and a greater dividend for personal initiative and flair.
It is understood the the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) may support continuous assessment if teachers are compensated and given full in-service training.
Yesterday almost 60,000 students received their Leaving Cert results. Results were broadly in line with last year, although the number of Grade As and Grade Bs at higher level has increased.
Both Labour and parents' groups are demanding an inquiry into the relatively tough marking of some subjects.
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