This paper will be in three parts. First, three recent reports (published by the Inspectorate, by the national Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the third by Murchan et al., all in 2005) on implementation of the revised primary curriculum, introduced into schools in 1999 are critically analysed. The analysis will draw particular attention to the tendency to quantify the extent of implementation, in a rational-linear manner, rather than concentrate on quality indicators. Second, in June 2006, the Department of Education and Science (DES) for the first time in the country's history, published Whole School Evaluation (WSE) reports on its website. These reports are interrogated from a quantity/ quality perspective, while seeking out embedded notions of accountability and performativity. Finally, a concluding section will indicate how the evolution of the accountability agenda has impacted the work and lives of teachers, while arguing also that the agency of teachers, in emergent and needed networks, will be vital in constructing a deeper educational discourse and set of practices regarding accountability if quality and equality are to be given a more prominent place in contemporary and future