National Standards deliver for parents and children
Hon Anne Tolley
Parents have the right to know exactly how their children are doing at school, which is why this is such an exciting year.
As term one begins, I think it's safe to say we are about to experience the biggest, and most positive change in twenty years in our education system.
For the first time ever, primary and intermediate schools must report to parents in plain language at least twice a year on their child's progress in reading, writing and maths, and suggest ways in which parents and teachers can help our youngest students improve.
National Standards will be great for children, parents and the schools themselves, and we've received lots of great feedback.
For example, a survey in the New Zealand Herald last week showed that 73 per cent of parents are in favour of National Standards. I'm confident that more and more parents will be supportive once they have all the facts.
I know parents in our ethnic communities want their children to get a quality education and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. National Standards will lift achievement levels for all children.
It means that incomprehensible report cards which say a child is a delight to have in class, but tell you nothing about how he or she is achieving or progressing in the basic skills they need, should be a thing of the past.
Plunket-style graphs will, at a glance, give parents the information we know they want.
It's as simple as that. These National Standards, or benchmarks, set out what a child should be achieving in reading, writing and maths and by when, across all the different assessment tools schools currently use. It's not a new test.
Monitoring a child's progress against the Standards will help teachers and parents identify which children need extra help, and the Government has made an additional $36 million available over four years to support these students, as well as ensure Boards of Trustees know where extra resources should be spent.
Parents across New Zealand recently received a letter from the Prime Minister and further information on the Standards. I urge everyone who is interested in their child's education to take a closer look.
National Standards are needed because we have a major problem in this country. One in five students leave school without the basic skills they need in reading, writing and maths to succeed in the modern world.
The social and economic effects this has on the estimated 150,000 young people currently being allowed to fail, and the country, are huge.
There is no time for delay. We've talked about it for over ten years. We need to act now.
The vast majority of schools are quietly getting on with the task of implementing the Standards.
This year will be a bedding-in year. There will be an independent monitoring and evaluation programme running alongside the Standards over the next three years. Any changes that need to be made will happen. We need to get this right.
We've also made sure teachers have the extra help they requested to implement the Standards. Ministry funding of $26 million will go towards professional development for boards, principals and teachers.
So the National Standards are ready, the funding is in place and the world is watching. We all now need to step up and do the very best we can for all our children. What we do this year can ensure they will have a happy and successful future.
