Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS

April 09, 2015

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New ESRI Research looks at Supports for Disadvantaged Schools A new report launched today (9 April) by the ESRI examines the Department of Education and Skills’ Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme. DEIS provides additional funding and supports to schools with a concentration of disadvantaged students. The report, Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS (by Emer Smyth, Selina McCoy and Gillian Kingston), draws on existing evaluations of the programme, as well as Irish and international research, to provide an overview of the impact of DEIS and to identify the lessons that can be learned for future policy development. The key questions and findings addressed are: What is the profile of DEIS schools?

  • DEIS schools are more likely to have students
    • Who come from unskilled manual or non-employed households,
    • Who have parents with lower levels of education,
    • Whose families have lower household income and
    • Who are more likely to come from lone parent families.
    • Urban band 1 primary schools have the highest concentration of socio-economic disadvantage.
    • These schools are also more likely to cater for students from Traveller backgrounds, students from non-English-speaking backgrounds and students with special educational needs.

What are the differences between DEIS and non-DEIS schools?

  • DEIS schools are more likely to use rigid forms of ability grouping (that is, streaming). Streaming has been found to contribute to disengagement, lower exam grades and higher rates of early school leaving among those placed in lower stream classes.
  • DEIS schools tend to have more challenging disciplinary climates and post-primary students in DEIS schools are more likely to report negative interaction (being ‘given out to’ or reprimanded) by their teachers. Such negative interaction is associated with lower rates of staying in school and progression to post-school education and training.

What are the outcomes of the DEIS programme?

  • Evaluations by the Educational Research Centre and the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills point to an improvement over time in planning for teaching and learning and in setting targets for achievement in DEIS schools.
  • There has been a significant improvement over the period 2007-13 in the reading and mathematics test scores of primary students in DEIS schools. Improvements have been greater in reading than in maths.
  • These improvements must be seen in the context of the recent information from the 2014 National Assessment which shows an improvement in reading and maths scores across all primary schools, most likely reflecting the impact of the national literacy and numeracy strategy. This means that DEIS schools have kept pace with improvements in other schools but the gap in achievement has not narrowed.
  • The most disadvantaged schools, urban band 1 primary schools, have the lowest reading and maths scores. Students in rural DEIS schools have higher test scores than those in urban DEIS schools.
  • Absenteeism rates have declined over time in urban band 1 primary schools; for example, 20.7 per cent of students were absent for 20 days or more over the school year 2011/12 compared with 24.4 per cent of students in 2005/6.
  • The gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools in the proportion of students completing junior and senior cycle has narrowed over time. Among those who entered post-primary education in 1995, the gap in retention rates between DEIS and non-DEIS schools was 22 per cent but this gap had declined to 10.5 per cent for the cohort who entered in 2008.
  • At post-primary level, there has been a slight narrowing of the gap in overall Junior Certificate grades between DEIS and non-DEIS schools.

Are there any gaps in what we know about DEIS?

  • To date evaluations have focused mainly on achievement in reading and maths, especially at primary level. There is scope for looking at other student outcomes, including school engagement and achievement across other subjects. It would also be important to have data on Leaving Certificate performance in DEIS and non-DEIS schools.
  • Information is not currently collected on individual student social background; if such data were available, we could separate the effects of individual background from those of the concentration of disadvantage in particular schools.
  • Evaluations show that there are differences among DEIS schools in their student outcomes. Case-studies of schools with different rates of improvement in achievement would yield useful insights into the school and teacher factors which make a difference.

What are the Implications for policy?

  • The DEIS programme provides supports to schools with a concentration of disadvantaged students and has resulted in a number of improvements in student outcomes. The continuing concentration of disadvantage in DEIS schools, especially urban band 1 primary schools, highlights the need for continued supports for such schools.
  • Findings point to continuing challenges in the area of mathematics, highlighting the need to focus on numeracy skills in future provision.
  • Research points to a number of ways of further enhancing practice in DEIS schools through changes in the use of ability grouping and enhancing the quality of teacher-student interaction.

Report author, Emer Smyth, said: "Moving away from rigid forms of ability grouping, improving the school climate and fostering high expectations for students would enhance student outcomes in DEIS schools and build upon the progress made to date". Report author, Selina McCoy, commented: “The findings point to high levels of disadvantage and greater complexity of need in urban band 1 DEIS schools. We need further debate on the levels of funding required to meet the needs of students in these schools.”