The president of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (Asti) has signalled her support for schools to be required to meet national standards of excellence in a move which would in turn allow their performance to be assessed.
Speaking after making a presentation to the Dáil Committee on Education and Science, Susie Hall said any form of assessment should take into account the background of the school.
Unlike crude "league tables", it should also focus on a range of school activities - not just the academic performance of its pupils. Schools should not be forced to compete against one another, but every child should be guaranteed their school meets a standard of excellence.
Although the Asti has no formal policy on the issue, Ms Hall told the committee she would have "no hesitation" in supporting such a system as a means of judging how well a school performed.
Earlier, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said the Government was not spending enough money on education. General secretary John Carr said he was "very angry" going to his annual conference next week as the Government has continued to fail to reach its commitments on class sizes.
He said it seemed the Government was running an economy rather than a society, and had not convinced the Department of Finance of the need to invest in education.
He added that the INTO supported the development of a national assessment policy for primary schools. This should include the "judicious use" of standardised tests at times to be decided within the context of the school plan.
However he warned that national standardised testing "will never supply the required information, and would damage the primary education system irreparably".
In its submission, the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) said a "narrow and utilitarian" understanding of what constitutes excellence had led to an overemphasis on the accumulation of CAO points. John MacGabhann, of the TUI, said this played "right into the hands" of private, profit-oriented institutions, who were simply "finessing" the education received by students in State schools.