Good to see MPs working together
The Herald reports:
A working group of MPs has asked that parents of the worst- and best-performing students be given greater choice about how and where the child is educated and be able to take their government funding with them.
The Government was considering a modified version of the education voucher scheme for the 20 per cent worst-performing and 5 per cent best-performing students aged 6 to 16 years.
The working group on school choice was set up under Act and National’s supply and confidence agreement and chaired by Act deputy leader Heather Roy and made up of MPs from National, Act and the Maori Party
The report is online here.
I’m very supportive of any initiative that increases choice and flexibility for parents and pupils, like this one does.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Your headline congratulates some MPs, who are all part of the coalition government, for working together?
Are you trying to imply that National, ACT and Maori party MPs normally can’t work together?
[DPF: There is no coalition, just supply and confidence agreements. In the area of education policy, it is rare to have the Maori Party and ACT in agreement]
February 17th, 2010 at 11:13 am
The one problems that I could see occurring with this initiative is that once the student turns 16 they may lose their access to that same level of education and resultantly the previous 10 years may end up going to waste if he/she was at a decile 10 school from 8-16 and then forced into a decile 3 school for the final two years, the years which university entrance and the NZQA depends on most
February 17th, 2010 at 11:47 am
All that will happen is that the top 20% of kids will try for the top 5% cut-off…
…and the bottom 60% will aim to be in the lower 20% cut-off.
When the bottom 60% of the kids get 0% in the test because they want to get in the voucher group, how are you going to discriminate between them? Ask the teachers?
February 17th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Do you really think parents of the worst performing 20% are going to have the time, inclination, or resources to take advantage of such a scheme? The main beneficiaries from this scheme will be private education providers and perhaps the top 5% of students who don’t need the help anyway. Yes empower parents, yes rein in the all-knowing education bureacracy – but this is not the way to do it.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Where is the choice? do you really think AGS or McLeans College will openly accept to bottom performing 20% of students in Auckland?
Another totally uncosted, untrialled proposal that has little educational theoretical basis.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Centerforward
Whilst i agree about the parents of the lowest 20% I have to vehemently disagree that the top 5% do need this as much as the bottom 20%.
It is time we made sure our top kids (not matter who they are) get the very best, we do it for the sports stars!
Lastly, I think going to another school for a day is better use of time than different classes on different days.
There already is a facility in Wtn as we know a child going there.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
A worthwhile initiative, though I would sooner have seen a full fledged voucher trial maybe restricted to one city like say Christchurch.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
It is good to see some movement on school choice, but the report is pretty weak – even though I support it. More importantly this is the first time that National’s talked about school choice for a while. When the front-benchers start talking about it, we’ll know if it’s serious.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:09 am
Radical idea of the day: Increase choice for everyone.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:47 am
This is decision by committee which means a mish mash policy that is utter crap just scrap all that we are doing now and bring in the voucher system.
ACT have screwed their idea with compromise.