Response to Post Primary School Assessment Article

As the national organisation for many people with Down syndrome, Down Syndrome Ireland were very concerned to read the article in the Irish Independent (click here to read) relating to a National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) assessment conducted in preparation for transition to mainstream Post Primary school.  

The article highlighted the inflexibility in testing for children with intellectual disabilities. In this case, the findings of the NEPS report cast doubts on the ability of the child to transition to a mainstream Post Primary school. Had the parents followed the recommendations, the student who is now in third level education, would never have had such a successful, positive experience in a mainstream Post Primary school.  

This article will undoubtedly raise concerns for parents and schools who will avail of it in the future, or who have already availed of the NEPS service to provide psychological assessments for children with Down syndrome as they prepare to move from Primary to Post Primary school, and Down Syndrome Ireland would urge NEPS to urgently review their testing methods. Applying the same testing regime to everybody with any form of intellectual disability is limiting and, in many cases, would not consider the complex nature of Down syndrome as both an intellectual and chromosomal disorder, with the related individual strengths and needs associated with the syndrome.  

Additionally, the presence of speech, language and communication disorders over and above what would be expected for the level of intellectual ability will undoubtedly have an impact on observations and conclusions. While it is true to say that any assessment is only a snapshot on a given day of any child’s performance on a test, it must be remembered that a NEPS report recommendations will have implications for children’s future educational journeys and opportunities. The ethical implications of recommending or restricting access to certain types of education based on IQ scores and performance on a given day is highly questionable, given that learning is a dynamic process, and, as has been highlighted in the article, learning depends on opportunities.  

In the recent past, there was no expectation that people with Down syndrome would have the ability to read, so many were not given the opportunity to learn. Today’s students are proving that this assumption was false, with the vast majority of people with Down syndrome achieving some level of functional literacy. For many people with Down syndrome, literacy is actually a relative strength. Outdated methods of determining which learning opportunities are appropriate for which student, like the assumptions in the past, are highly discriminatory. They perpetuate inequalities in access to education and must be challenged. 

Down Syndrome Ireland will be raising this issue with the Ministers for Education & Special Education; and with NEPS, as a matter of urgency.