School and teacher accountability have had a somewhat fluctuating existence in Irish education. For example, in the nineteenth century, and up to the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, various frameworks for teacher and school accountability, such as incidental inspections and the Payment by Results system, were regular and at times an unnerving feature of school life. The rating of primary teachers by inspectors and the public availability of post-primary schools examination results were also significant means of making teachers accountable to school and state. At primary level, the frequency of inspections also related to the perceived quality of the school and teacher, as determined by the inspectorate; what might be referred to as incidental or proportionate inspections in the modern era.