Standards: The propaganda machine

MEDIA RELEASE
The propaganda machine

The Quality Public Education Coalition (“QPEC”) is disappointed that the propaganda from the Government and its agencies on the debacle of National Standards continues unabated.

The Education Review Office (“ERO”) reported again that 90% of schools were either “well prepared” or “had preparations underway” to work with the National Standards at the end of 2010. “Be Prepared” may be the Scout movement’s motto but it is a poor indicator of how many schools actually assessed their students against the Standards and reported this information to parents in their end of year school reports.

But according to the Minister of Education, full implementation had been expected during 2010:
“National Standards will be introduced into primary and intermediate schools next year, and schools will report progress against them to parents in plain English at least twice a year.”
Anne Tolley, Hansard, 9 December 2009

ERO’s lack of understanding of what is really happening is nothing compared to that shown by Professor Gary Hawke, chairperson of the National Standards Sector Advisory Group (“NSSAG”). His release talked of a gap between reality and rhetoric. QPEC agrees but wonders what the reality truly is?

The excellent survey of 350 schools, carried out last year by the NZ Council for Educational Research (“NZCER”), revealed the following:
• “85% of the principals and 86% of the teachers agreed or strongly agreed that National Standards will not change the pattern of student achievement much because they already identified individual student needs and worked hard to increase rates of learning progress.
• Only 11% of the teachers agreed that using National Standards would give them more insight into the learning needs of their students compared to what they had from the assessments and evaluations they were using last year.
• And, only 12% of trustees agreed that the use of National Standards would definitely improve student achievement levels in their school.”

So, what’s the reality and what’s the rhetoric?

QPEC supports the stance taken by the more than 300 schools that are members of the Boards Taking Action Coalition: “The National Standards are fundamentally flawed, confusing and unworkable and that our schools have no confidence in them.”

QPEC calls on the Prime Minister, who has himself acknowledged these flaws, to call a halt to this fiasco. It is time to work with the education sector to bring about a workable solution to the challenge of lifting student achievement and giving all students access to a quality education.

ENDS

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