PM’s Standards Admission Extraordinary

For Immediate Release

PM’s Standards Admission Extraordinary

The Prime Minister’s admission that different schools are interpreting the National Standards differently is no surprise to the 300 Boards of Trustees in the Boards Taking Action Coalition.

Schools in the coalition have long claimed that the National Standards are not ‘national’ at all and therefore the data generated cannot be trusted.

“The Prime Minister’s statement regarding the different interpretations of the National Standards is extraordinary. He confirms the concerns held by Boards in the Boards Taking Action Coalition,” says Perry Rush, a spokesperson for the group.

“If the Prime Minister is now expressing speed wobbles about the Standards, it signals that schools that have refused to subject their students to untried and untested standards have made the right decision. The Prime Minister’s doubts should also encourage other schools to make their concerns public.”

As a result of their concern the school boards have refused to meet a January 31st deadline for lodging their school charters containing National Standards targets.

A recent survey of schools in the coalition found that over 95% of the 300 Boards in the coalition defied the Ministry expectation and withheld their achievement targets.

These schools say they have no confidence in the National Standards. Many are
instead using trusted data to set achievement targets for their students.

With the surprise resignation of Mary Chamberlain, the Ministry of Education manager responsible for the implementation of National Standards, it is time for the government to show some decisive leadership in resolving the genuine concerns of the sector.

“The Coalition has been very clear with the Minister of Education about how to resolve concerns. The Minister has been invited to engage in a rebuild of the standards in partnership with the education sector. To date she has refused to address the serious flaws.”

Failure to do so will increasingly set school boards and the government on a collision course,” says Perry Rush.
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