In 2010 the New Zealand government is implementing a new scheme called National Standards in all English speaking schools for students in years 1 to 8. This article defines these new standards and explains what they mean for parents and students.
What are National Standards?
National Standards are a way of measuring how close each child is to mastering the New Zealand curriculum set for his or her year level. Each subject has had a number of goalposts set, and students will be tested against these goalposts regularly to check on their progress and where they need more help. In this way, each student and his or her parents will be able to tell whether or not he or she is meeting expectations for his or her level.
National Standards will provide valuable information when setting learning goals for each child, and will involve family along with teachers in this. One intention of the standards is to make the process of teaching each child transparent so that the child’s family can see exactly what is going right and what is going wrong. National Standards also provide a way for schools to easily track their students’ progress and compare groups of students to ensure everyone is getting the support they need.
What Do National Standards Mean for Parents?
Parents of a student will receive at least two reports per year on his or her progress with the standards, as well his or her current learning goals and what the school and parents can do to support the student. The school will help the parents in understanding the report and in fact may design the format of the reports in consultation with the school community. The reports must be clear and in plain language.
One intention of the National Standards is to enable parents to better support their child’s learning. Teachers will now be able to describe exactly what is expected of each student at a national level, and what each student is currently capable of, as well as what can be done to help him or her improve to match the expected level, or to extend past it.
Eventually, it is hoped that Maori speaking schools will also be brought under National Standards, however these standards are still being developed. English language learners will continue to be reported with English Language Learning Progressions for now, but will also eventually switch over to National Standards. Students with special educational needs will each have an Individual Education Plan that relates to the standards.
What Do National Standards Mean for Schools?
In 2010 schools will be expected to support the community in understanding National Standards, as well as providing the two reports to parents. They are also expected to create a charter for 2011, detailing the goals of the school as a whole, in regard to students’ progress in relation to National Standards.
By 2012, schools will be able to report on their intended charters and whether or not they were able to meet the targets. They will then be able to clearly see how different groups of students in the school (for example different genders, or Maori or Pasifika students) are doing in comparison with the whole, and methods for improvement if necessary.
There are some concerns that the charters developed by schools will be used by parents to judge the school and individual teachers, rather than simply as a stepping stone for the school to develop suitable programs to meet the needs of the students. Whether this will be true and what steps might be taken to prevent this remains to be seen.
National Standards, if implemented in the spirit they are intended, will be a boon for parents and students as they will be able to more easily judge what progress is expected under the New Zealand curriculum and how to achieve that progress. However, whether they will be as welcomed by teachers and educational professionals remains to be seen.
More information on National Standards from the Ministry of Education.
More information on National Standards and the New Zealand Curriculum.
Rachel Sawaya - Rachel Sawaya is a freelance writer from New Zealand (who also has US citizenship), and currently lives in Auckland, the big smoke of New ...
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