Our education system is near the top of the class. But the news is not all good, argues Seán Flynn.
There is no shortage of good, comforting news in the latest OECD survey, Education at a Glance.
Irish 15-year-olds were ranked fifth of 27 OECD states in reading literacy. Just one country, Finland, has a significantly higher score. No less than 14 per cent of Irish students were in an elite group which could complete the most difficult reading task.
In scientific literacy, the results were also impressive. Irish students were ranked ninth out of 27; a creditable performance given that science has only recently made its way on to the primary school curriculum.
In mathematical literacy, the Republic emerges with less credit, ranked 15th out of 27. Even the highest-performing students in Ireland performed poorly relative to their counterparts in other countries.
It may be that students are losing out in maths because of a curriculum overburdened with language teaching at primary level. As Mr Gerry Shiel, of the Education Research Centre, pointed out yesterday, Irish 9- to 11-year-olds receive less instruction in maths than their OECD counterparts.
Declining standards in maths are now one of the features of the Irish education system. There is a cohort of about 4,000 students who fail ordinary level maths at both Junior and Leaving Cert level. Studies show that many from this group drop out of third level and/or fail their first-year exams. Many are simply unable to cope with a computer or related course which has a strong maths component.
It would be churlish not to acknowledge, however, that this State has emerged with great credit from the report. Pupils, teachers and parents deserve credit because these results have been achieved despite relatively low levels of State investment.
On several occasions the report cites the Republic as a country which has managed to develop a very good education, despite relatively low State investment.
So what is our secret? At least part of the answer is contained in an impressive background paper prepared for the OECD by Prof John Coolahan, of NUI Maynooth. He demolishes the notion peddled by some during the ASTI dispute that the teaching profession is failing to attract high-calibre students.
In fact, as he writes, the Republic is blessed with an outstanding and very dedicated teaching force, drawn from some of the highest academic achievers in the Leaving Cert exam.
It may be that parents also deserve a share of the credit. Previous OECD reports have underlined how Irish students tend to receive far more homework than their peers elsewhere.
A series of reports has also recognised what virtually all Irish parents will tell you: they are hugely involved in their children's homework. Since the homework tends to consolidate the good work in the classroom, it is no wonder that Irish students are near the top of the class.
Inevitably, the OECD report takes a broad-brush approach. It tells us much of what we already know; for roughly 80 per cent of our population the Irish education system provides a very decent service.
The OECD report tells us little about the appalling levels of literacy in many schools in disadvantaged areas. The literacy data, however, do hint at the increased segregation in the education system here. It shows that secondary school students outperformed their counterparts in community and comprehensive schools and that these in turn outperformed students in vocational schools.
The figures for engagement in reading among males also hint at some worrying patterns. Irish 15-year-old boys were third from bottom of the OECD table for leisure reading; a shocking statistic given our rich literary tradition, but one that will probably receive little attention as we take pride in the overall findings.
One school principal said yesterday: "My fear is that the good-news headline about literacy standards in Ireland will feed a complacency. There are serious, chronic literacy problems out there for thousands of our kids that this report does not recognise."
Certainly, reading the report one would never guess that thousands of Irish children drop out of school aged 15 and younger and that just 64 per cent of males on Dublin's north side bother to take the Leaving Cert exam.
There is no mention either of some other common features of the Irish education system; leaky roofs and rat-infested school buildings which pose a health and safety threat to pupils and teachers.
As the ASTI pointed out last night, the Republic is bottom of the league when it comes to the proportion of national income spent per second-level student in the OECD.
It is to be hoped that the report makes a case for greater public investment in education. But don't bet on this happening.
Over the coming months, the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, will be battling on behalf of the sector as part of the Estimates process.
But the OECD report could be part of his problem. A report which presents such good news is unlikely to help loosen the purse strings.