Labour will keep national standards
September 20th, 2011 at 1:00 pm by David FarrarA reader has pointed out something I missed in Labour’s announcement last week:
“Labour will give schools a choice. We believe that lifting education achievements is best left to the experts in partnership with parents, and our plan allows that to happen.
“But for any school community that genuinely supports „national standards. and believes it provides the best way to get results for their students we will not bully them into submission.
So some schools will use national standards and some will use the standards against the national curriculum. This should ensure it is impossible to get any meaningful data to compare schools with. The union will be happy.
Related posts:
- Listener on National Standards
- National Standards Data
- ERO on National Standards
- Stuff publishes the National Standards data
September 20th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
yeah that’s real leadership from Goof.
Vote:Roll over nice doggy.
September 20th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Two faced policy. One face for NZEI, other face for parents.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
It has never an issue around students or parents or education. Not at all.
Vote:The only objective of the Labour Party is to keep its union minions happy, so socialist teachers can cast their vote for the hopeless Goff.
September 20th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
More ignorance, I’m afraid from DPF on matters education.
National standards are not nationally moderated, therefore meaningful comparison between primary schools, based on National Standards, was, is and remains impossible, no matter which parties form the next government.
I’m supportive of schools using the standards if they find them useful, but they should be discarded for schools who don’t consider them a useful addition to their already comprehensive menu of assessment tools.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Hey Luc, how are you on the internet? computers and power use carbon which is a pollutant right? so don;t be a hypocrite, actually practice what you preach.
other than that you are wrong as usual on the standards. and you know you are.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Labour has seen the writing on the blackboard. Parents want the standards.
I’m surprised that the media have missed the upping of Anne Tolley two places on National’s list for the upcoming General Election.
That has been a vote of confidence in her as Education Minister. She’s done well to stand up to the teachers’ groups.
They didn’t expect that. All the ridiculing of her and condescension and the attempts at strong-arming her by trying to draw parents into their game have not worked. Well done.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Luc is right to some extent; The National Standard norms have not been established; students will be largely assessed internally. So the outcomes are likely to be as frothy as NCEA.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
… so, when is a national standard not a national standard …?
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Would you please elaborate on how Luc is wrong, Grendel?
Vote:His comment is right on the money.
September 20th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Luc has no idea. Parents want a pecentage mark. They want to know if the child is at the top or at the bottom. If the child is at the top then make way for further improvement and give the Teacher a performance bonus. If the child is at the bottom, then something can be done to improve learning, including sacking the Teacher.
Vote:Quite sad when the fastest learner is restricted to the pace of the slowest learner. Or worst Teacher
September 20th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
If only the world were as simple as Steve imagines…
The national standards will go way quietly enough on their own.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Steve
National standards, in their present form, don’t provide percentage marks.
Go to the bottom of the class.
Grendel
I understand the power of personal example. However, we all must live in the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.
Be assured, I do what I can to reduce my carbon footprint, within the confines of the classical rational economic actor.
Vote:September 20th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
http://www.ero.govt.nz/
Vote:September 21st, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Go to the bottom of the class? Where is that Luc?
Vote:One seat behind you?
September 21st, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Why is it that those that support National Standards always start there sentences with “Parents want/demand” and end with “Labour Activists/Unions”
I am a parent that doesn’t want the Standards (as I’ve expressed before, nothing to do with Labour or unions). Don’t include me in your pro stance.
Can anyone show me proof that these National Standards do what they say on the tin?. I can find alot of information that highlights issues and nothing that supports them that holds up under scrutiny.
I am still confused how setting standards above where children are expected to be helps close the gap.
Reporting – This definately needed some sorting out, but simplistic reporting doesn’t allow much room for showing progress.
Anyway Labours policy at least allows more flexibility for parents to choose and education that they desire for there children. While National are currently taking parents freedom away.
Vote:September 21st, 2011 at 7:16 pm
westie
I’m not sure you appreciate the extremes of the debate.
On one side, there are a group of people full of teacher prejudice (a common strain) who think loads of New Zealand kids are failing and that it’s due to lazy, incompetent teachers not doing their jobs properly. These people think that it should be easy to sort people into groups and that if parents only knew which group (failure/average/good) their kids fell into they could make the teachers try harder.
On the other side are the educationalists who point out that NZ already has very good achievement levels and systems to track progress. These people think that more resources would improve performance overall.
Neither group is completely correct.
Vote:September 21st, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Mikenmild I agree that at the moment it feels like my child is a pawn in the middle of a war between both sides.
Unfortunately with the governments take no prisoners approach I and other Steiner parents are losing the choice we made. So we continue to request the government to be flexible and support diversity.
If the governemnt took the higher ground and seriously listened to the concerns of the educationalist (review and trial standards) while ensuring that reporting were improved then we would be in a win win situation. (as well as allowing diversity).
We would then possibly hear about some of the good things the government seems to be doing in this area (The latest from what I read was a review that looked at getting the top graduates into education and retaining them)
The argument shouldn’t be black and white. There are those that will excel under this National Standards policy and those that won’t. So on balance Labours policy allows those that support National Standards as well as those that don’t.
lets meet in the middle and get some good news on this
Vote: