'Signposts' - PM tells how it will work

PM John Key called the plan one of the most important steps his Government would ever take. Photo / Dean Purcell

Every child will have been assessed and reported on at least 16 times before they get to secondary school under the Government's introduction of national standards.

Prime Minister John Key and Education Minister Anne Tolley yesterday released details on the biggest reform in primary and intermediate education in 20 years.

They revealed new benchmarks for the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Parents of children in Years 1 to 8 (those aged 5 to 13) will receive the first of those reports during the next academic year.

They will receive two each year to track their children's progress until high school.

The standards focus on detailed areas that teachers will be expected to test students against at each level.

For example, after one year at school, students will read The Way it Was by Dot Meharry.

They will then be expected to answer questions from the teacher and provide additional information on the story, such as the use of different colours in the illustrations.

Teachers will use a variety of assessment activities when they write reports and may use samples of students' work. They will also be allowed to use assessment from other learning areas to compile the reports.

Lin Avery, principal of Glen Taylor School in Glendowie, where the national standards plan was launched yesterday, said children would not be overly assessed.

In practice, parents at most schools would receive the same number of reports on their children as currently happened, but with added information.

"The national standards are another effective tool to add to the existing reports."

Under the plan, which is costing the Government $36 million, students will not be compared against others - assessment will measure only their progress and achievement against the national standards.

Ms Tolley said she had no problem with the amount of reporting on children as schools were largely doing it already.

It was what parents wanted and "as long as it is to improve learning" it was a good thing.

Mr Key called the plan one of the most important steps his Government would ever take.

"The future of New Zealand does not lie with the Government, it lies with the children at school now."

Mr Key said the standards would lift achievement and provide "clear signposts" on a child's progress.

One in five students was being left behind and they needed to be identified so they could receive help, he said.

The primary teaching unions remain critical of national standards and some principals still held reservations yesterday.

Paul Engles, principal at St Mary's School in Northcote, said the national standards had been drawn up based on an assumption that students learned in steady increments - something neither research nor real-world experience supported.

"Children learn something quickly, plateau for a while, go back a bit, then get on track. You can't say everyone learns incrementally. No one does. Even in a job no one does that."

Some in the sector are also concerned that the reports will be used to create league tables.

Ms Tolley said she was working with unions and the Ministry of Education on how the data would be displayed.

MATHS

WHAT A CHILD REACHING HIGH SCHOOL (END OF YEAR 8) SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO:

1) Mani competed in the hop, step and jump event. Her jump was 2.65 metres and her step was 1.96 metres. The total of her triple jump was 5.5 metres. How long was her hop?
2) Andre has ordered 201 tennis balls. They are sold in cans of 3 balls. How many cans should he receive?

ANSWERS
1) 0.89m
2) 67