Stop dragging out old data and get back to the table so we can get it right together 17 August 2010
New Zealand‟s Principals are dismissing claims by the Education Minister that 80% of schools are „working well‟ with National Standards and are again asking her to engage in meaningful dialogue with the sector to get the standards right.
“Ms Tolley needs to accept what almost 2000 principals know – that the current National Standards system is fundamentally flawed and the information they produce about schools and children is meaningless. She needs to stop hiding behind smokescreens” says NZPF Vice-President Peter Simpson.
“The ERO evaluation period that Ms Tolley refers to in her statement today covers the very early months of the education year. It is certainly not the picture you would find today. In terms one and two principals were genuinely trying to engage with and understand the National Standards system, but at that stage they had very little working experience with them. Many would barely have had time to unwrap the Ministry documentation, let alone understand how they would work on a day to day basis.”
Mr Simpson says a more realistic reflection of how schools are doing with National Standards is how well they have – or haven‟t – been able to work with them around recent mid-year reports.
“We have certainly seen significant upswing in concerns from our members when it came time to report using the standards, with many telling us that despite their best efforts, they just can‟t make these standards make sense, no matter how hard they tried.”
Mr Simpson says it is only now that they are trying to work with the National Standards system every day that principals are uncovering the fundamental flaws in it.
This view was borne out at an NZPF Forum last week, when presidents and representatives of regional principals‟ groups met. The group passed a vote of no confidence in the current National Standards system and endorsed a public education campaign to inform parents of the dangers and limitations of the system and any data it generates.
“Ms Tolley has stated that she wants to get the standards right for children. If this is the case she should get back around the table with the people who work with these children every day, and who know what does and doesn‟t work in our schools,” says Mr Simpson. “Until then she is stuck with the reality that the vast majority of schools are opposed to her national standards, her National Standards system is flawed, and her ministry does not have the capability to fix it without help from the sector.”
For more information, please contact:
Ernie Buutveld
President
New Zealand Principals' Federation
Mobile 027 448 4789
ernieb@nzpf.ac.nz
