National Standards - a personal view... 08/07/2010
With National Standards currently causing some controversy I thought it timely to give my viewpoint on the new reporting system currently being implemented in New Zealand’s Primary and Intermediate schools. I should point out that National Standards are very new and as such I am still learning more about them - I am open to corrections and may well change my opinions with time. Firstly, what are National Standards? I understand them to be a reporting system whereby parents must be told twice a year about their child’s ability in Literacy and Numeracy (English & Maths) from Year 1 to Year 8. They must be told where their child sits in relation to the expected level of achievement for their age. Teachers make their own judgement call on this using the normal range of testing methods (things like classroom observation and PAT tests) to work out if a child is at the prescribed standard. Some schools were already doing this well before National Standards and I sympathise with their plight in now having to use up valuable time and resources re-inventing the wheel. However, some schools were not and many parents felt they were not in the picture. We have,to name but a few: curriculum levels that overlap year levels, numeracy project stages and reading colours...it had become a confusing mess for parents! When I was teaching at secondary level, it was not uncommon to meet parents who were angry that they hadn’t been informed earlier that their child was falling behind. A clearer system of reporting is surely a step in the right direction. Perhaps more important is what National Standards are NOT. They are not a test or exam– I have read articles where National Standards are unfairly compared to other overseas systems that aren’t showing good outcomes – but that are quite different. In Australia, for example, NAPLAN (National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy) involves a set test so the emphasis is on assessment more so than reporting. This sort of system risks an outcome of teaching that is narrowed down in an effort to teach to the test. In New Zealand, for most schools the National Standards don’t require any additional testing than was already being done – they just require parents to be clearly informed of the results. National Standards are also not about ‘standardising’ students. They are about reporting – about making sure parents are in the picture. My baby has a Well Child book and is regularly weighed so I can see on a chart whether he is 'well above', 'above' or 'below' the average. It doesn’t mean that all babies have to be the same weight. What matters to me is that I can see that he is progressing along – it is not a big deal if he is always just under the average. And if there is sudden change, or if he goes well above or well below - I will be aware of it and able to look at the reasons behind it and make an informed decision about what, if anything, to do about it. My son is in fact well above the norm for his weight but as this is in line with his height and head circumference, I am not worried –every kid is different. I give him bottled water rather than milk to snack on during the day and otherwise have taken no action – but I still appreciate having the information. It is similar with National Standards – if your child falls well below the standard, as a parent you will know all the other factors that make your child who he is. He may have special learning needs and still be progressing well from year to year and there may be little that needs changing. Alternatively you may be shocked and the results may trigger further investigation into the reasons. The latter may be stressful for a parent but at least you will have been alerted early and have time to take action. It is not unusual for children to ‘slip through the system’ or to have undiagnosed learning disabilities and I think National Standards reporting may help prevent this. So why are some teachers and principals opposed to National Standards? From what I can gather the opposition is centred more around how National Standards may be misinterpreted or misused. · League tablesA school’s overall National Standards results (not individual students) will be collected by the government and as such will be available to the public. The fear is that the media will then produce tables ranking schools based on their results. This could have disastrous consequences if parents are not well informed about the complexities of the data being presented to them. A school, for example, may have more students for whom English is a second language and this may significantly lower their National Standards Literacy results. Parents may see the school at the bottom of the list and their knee-jerk reaction may be to remove their students. The school in turn may be tempted to turn away ESOL students. I have outlined some of the serious pitfalls of National Standards being used to compare schools here. · Disheartened studentsI agree that it would be soul destroying to work hard every year and make progress from year to year, only to be repeatedly told that you were below the National Standard (the Standard gets harder each year). However, National Standards are about reporting to parents. I wouldn’t tell my toddler they were over the average weight for their age and nor would I tell my primary school aged child that they were well above or below the average for their academic ability. If they asked or became aware through their peers, I would tell them - but only in the context of emphasising the progress they have made: “Yes, you are a little below the standard but wow look how much longer the stories you are writing this year. ” · Outraged parents I agree that there may be a minority of parents who find the results difficult to accept but there comes a time that rose-tinted glasses need to be removed and the realisation made that perhaps Little Johnny isn’t really a genius and that schools are only resourced to do so much. I suspect that the vast majority of us parents are more than aware of our children’s strengths and weaknesses and are immensely grateful for their teachers. · Neglect of other curriculum areas There is some concern that other curriculum areas such as Science, Art and Physical Education will suffer because National Standards put the emphasis on Numeracy and Literacy. Professional development in schools is already being channelled into National Standards at the expense of other subject areas. I think this will change with time as training needs for National Standards ease. I also think that as there is no set exam for National Standards, Numeracy and Literacy skills can be assessed through work in other subject areas so there is no real pressure to reduce the time spent on these. · Lack of training I agree that National Standards have been implemented in a rush and this seems to be typical of changes in our education sector. I recall it was the same when NCEA was introduced at Secondary level – as teachers we were floundering and at training sessions it often felt a bit like the blind leading the blind. Perhaps it is a consequence of the three year government period in this country, if changes are going to get through – they need to be done in a hurry! I sympathise with the teachers on this one as it’s already a job in which there are not enough hours in the day. I found this concerning comment from a teacher on the Everybody.co.nz community forum: "And they are not a 'national' standard. At least NCEA exams are the same throughout the country. I have to feed to the Y8 dean whether I think my students are at the standard for reading and writing. I get to make up the assessment and decide how to mark it and then decide if they are at the standard.... no moderation or any input from other teachers on what I am doing- sole charge decision by me. What a joke! I have had no PD in national standards being a secondary teacher so I base it on my professional opinion. Now having been a teacher for awhile and heavily involved in the national exams, I trust my judgement but I have no trust in a national standard comparability between schools." I also firmly believe that parents need educating about National Standards if we are to avoid some of the above pitfalls. It is one of the key reasons for this website, however I would’ve expected the government to be putting more resources into educating parents and caregivers about National Standards. Comments08/07/2010 12:08pm
The Standards are not at all what they seem .... even though most of what you saying is correct. Hi Greg - thanks for taking the time to comment and sorry for the delay in reply, I'm away on holiday in Australia at the moment. Could you clarify which bits are wrong when you say "most of what you saying is correct"? Leave a Reply |
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