ACT Education spokeswoman Donna Awatere Huata told teachers at Westlake Girls’ High School today, she was concerned the Ministry of Education is using high school students as guinea pigs in an unproven and untested assessment scheme.

Mrs Huata is a leading critic of the new National Certificate of Educational Achievement, claiming it will result in the continued “dumbing down” of the education system.

“School certificate, sixth form certificate and bursary will disappear and be replaced by 5000 untested achievement standards. And it is the students that shoulder the effects of dumbing-down our education system, not the Ministry,” told the teachers today.

“We cannot afford to drop senior exams and replace them with a broad assessment system that cannot give accurate learning outcomes.”

She said raising education standards meant implementing benchmarks and assessments that can clearly indicate a students level of achievement, and in turn give prospective employers and good indication of a job seekers education skills.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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