Lower-achieving Irish schoolchildren are doing better than average international comparators in maths and science, but the highest achievers have not boosted their performance over the last four years, according to the latest international research.
The Irish element of the 2019 research published today was co-ordinated by Dr Aidan Clerkin and Dr Rachel Perkins of the Educational Research Centre.
The TIMSS report indicates that lower-achieving students in Ireland are performing significantly better than the average of equivalent-grade students from other countries at both 4th class and 2nd year levels.
However, at the same time, the highest achieving students are under-performing relative to their international peers.
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For example, the TIMSS study found that Ireland is the top performing EU country in mathematics in both 4th class and 2nd year - though it rated behind non-EU countries including Singapore, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and the Russian Federation.
For 4th class maths, Ireland rated significantly below seven countries including Northern Ireland - but for 4th class science, the Republic was placed significantly above 33 countries including Northern Ireland.
The TIMSS results can be skewed by the number of students that countries or schools may exclude from taking the TIMSS test for various reasons.
It is understood that while Ireland excludes around 1% of students, some countries like Singapore excluded up to 12% of pupils.
Grinds or "shadow education" can also influence outcomes.
The Department of Education and Skills described the performance of the Irish students as remaining "stable and strong" over the last four yeas, with boys and girls performing equally well.
Minister Norma Foley welcomed the report, but acknowledged the need to focus on certain areas, including stretching the performance of higher-achieving students.
"Concentrated efforts are required to improve the performance of higher achieving students in both subjects at both school levels.
"This is in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to implement a strategy to support gifted and talented students at both primary and post-primary levels," the minister said.
She noted the contribution of school communities, the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, curricular review and redevelopment, the STEP Education Policy Statement and the Digital Strategy for Schools.
She announced a further €50m in investment for ICT in schools, bringing the total investment since 2017 to €210m.
"Now more than ever, it is vital that our learners become more and more adept at using technologies for education," the minister stated.
Ms Foley also acknowledged the need to provide high quality continuing professional development for teachers focused on extending higher-achieving students, dedicated resources, and to promote skills including digital learning skills.
She remarked that Junior Cycle developments were still in the early stage of implementation, and would take time to impact on students' performance.
The minister also outlined the Government's commitment to providing a STEM education for all learners, adding that the TIMSS 2019 results would be taken into account when considering actions in the next STEM Education Implementation Plan.
