What are National Standards?
National Standards are descriptions of what students should know and be able to do in reading, writing and maths. They are reference points describing what students should be aiming for as they progress through years 1-8.
All students should know what goals they are working towards in reading, writing, and mathematics, and why those goals are important.
Why has the government introduced National Standards?
It was determined by the Ministry of Education (MoE) that students need to achieve NCEA Level 2 to have access to a broad range of career choices. This is at Year 12 level (the equivalent to 6th form) but the roots of learning are back at primary school level. The MOE tracked back year by year to determine what students need to achieve at each year level, and this has formed the basis of the new National Standards.
How does this affect us at our school?
We have been working to introduce National Standards as per Ministry of Education guidelines. We are responsible for reporting to parents twice a year in plain language, and show what progress each child has made against the National Standards.
What has changed?
- The format of your child’s report has changed. We surveyed parents on our report design in 2010. This needed reviewing to align with reporting against National Standards. The feedback from parents was used to design our new report.
- Reading, writing and maths are all assessed in relation to National Standards.
- For students in Years 1 – 3, we report against National Standards at the end of each 40 weeks completed at school NOT at the end of the calendar year. This is a change to the past. For example, if a child starts school in May, then their first 40 weeks of school is not complete until the following May. In December they would receive a progress report only – we cannot provide full data of where they are in relation to National Standards. From Year 4, the standards apply to the year level (Year 4, 5 or 6). There may be some overlaps for example a child may have been at school for three years, but be in a Year 4 class.
- Overall Teacher Judgements have been introduced. This is a judgment made about a student’s progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. Teachers will give an Overall Teacher Judgement or OTJ on where each child is at. This judgement is formed from reviewing a wide range of the child’s work – test results, bookwork, individual 1:1 time with the teacher, group activities, etc.
Are OTJ’s and assessment methods the same at all schools?
No they are not. There are no set tests schools must use – there are a range of tests to choose from. At our school, teachers spend a lot of time moderating samples of student’s work – comparing work and discussing it so that we have a shared view of how work should be assessed. However there is no process for moderating between schools at this time. This means one school may not be as consistent as another school in grading students.
Has the introduction of National Standards caused any problems for us?
The revision of our reporting, and the changes to when and how teacher assessments take place, has caused a lot of extra work for our staff, as information about how to implement the National Standards has not been trialled or consistent. However our school has been participating in an Assessment to Learn contract through the Ministry of Education, and this has been very helpful. Good teaching practice has always been hugely important to us and effective teaching and learning is still our priority – nothing has changed there and we continue our focus on lifting the achievement of all students.
At this point we are in a “bedding in” period, as are all schools in NZ, as the issues involved with implementing the National Standards are being discussed nationwide. Across New Zealand full development of National Standards assessment and reporting is ongoing.
What happens next?
In Term 2 your child’s report shows their progress in Reading, Writing and Maths against the National Standards. At the end of the year we will also report on your child’s progress in other curriculum areas – Science, Social Studies, Technology, The Arts, and Health and Physical Education. We are trialling these report formats this year.
What are boards required to report to the Ministry of Education in relation to National Standards?
Boards are required to set National Standards targets in their Charters and report against these targets in Annual Reports.
The new National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) require schools to:
- report school-level data in the Board’s Annual Report on National Standards under three headings:
- school strengths and identified areas for improvement
- the basis for identifying areas for improvement
- planned actions for lifting achievement
- report in the Board’s Annual Report on:
- the numbers and proportions of students at, above, below or well below the standards, including by Māori, Pasifika, and by gender
- how students are progressing against the standards as well as how they are achieving
For more information on National Standards
The Ministry of Education website provides a great deal of information on National Standards. Parents who wish to learn more about National Standards will find plenty of background information there. Visit the Ministry of Education parent website and click the National Standards link – http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents.aspx
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