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The Government says National Standards will help our children do better. It claims the Standards will raise the achievement of Māori, Pasifika and children with special education needs, along with the overall performance of our education system.
These claims are wrong. There is widespread concern about the Standards from parents, educational experts, principals and teachers that the Standards are untested. There is growing support for the Standards to be trialled before they are implemented nationwide.
Why are educational experts, principals, teachers and many parents so worried about National Standards?
Untested: The Government is rushing to implement the Standards without any evidence that they will raise achievement. National standard regimes in other countries have failed and are being abandoned. New Zealand children are already achieving very well compared to other countries.
Demoralising: Not all children come to school equal. Some children have strengths and talents in parts of the curriculum, but not in literacy and numeracy. Labelling these children as failures will damage their motivation to learn.
One Size Fits All: National Standards encourage schools to march children through fixed annual levels for reading, writing and maths based on their age. In fact, children develop at their own pace, with wide variation in their progress.
Unnecessary: Schools already use a wide variety of assessment tools to identify children’s progress and already know which children are struggling.
Inaccurate: Overseas, national standards regimes have led to the manipulation of data, inaccurate classification of students, inconsistent moderation of standards across schools, and reduced flexibility in the curriculum. Let’s not repeat the debacle of rushed NCEA implementation.
Misleading: Media publication of National Standards data in the form of school league tables will create incorrect and unfair perceptions about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ schools. This will reinforce prejudice about low decile schools that may in fact be very effective in raising student achievement.
National Standards won’t work – what will?
● More highly qualified and experienced teachers for children with the greatest learning needs.
● Support for teachers to boost effective teaching and improved understanding of students’ diverse learning needs.
● Support for principals to provide strong community and professional leadership.
● Opportunities for all parents and whānau to talk about their child’s progress and learning needs.
Talk with your child’s teacher. It’s the best way to find out how your child is getting on at school.
National Standards and Māori achievement
"National Standards in their current form are not designed to reflect a Māori world view and will, once again, be an assessment tool that marginalises Māori learners within our education system."
Keri Milne-Ihimaera, Principal, Moerewa Primary School, Northland
National Standards and Pasifika students
"A lot of our students start behind the ‘norm’ and we work hard with them to lift their achievement. My Board and I are concerned about how data from National Standards will be used. Our priority is to support teaching and learning, not to demoralise schools and children's confidence by ‘naming and shaming’ them in simplistic league tables."
Karl Vasau, Principal, Holy Family School, Porirua
For more information go to www.handsupforlearning.org.nz