National standards release another blow for schools

The Green Party is calling on the Education Minister not to release her national standards data next week.

"Schools already know very well which of their kids are not achieving. What is needed to help them is resourcing, not finger pointing," Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today.

"The moderation tool for the standards won't even be finished until 2014 so this data is worse than meaningless; it's actually misleading.

"Any reporting to parents should be across the whole curriculum and should encourage the student, parent and teacher conversation on progress.

"The Minister is wrong about National Standards; this data is not 'powerful' and it won't provide 'support for all learners'.

"The Minister has said she doesn't support league tables, but by releasing this information she is sanctioning them.

"Her concern about league tables is just crocodile tears to mask her tacit support of ranking kids by releasing incoherent and misleading national standards data.

"Parents want thorough information on their child's achievement. National Standards and league tables don't deliver parents quality information.

"The Minister is releasing D grade information in order to mask the fact the Government is doing nothing in education that will really improve our kids' education.

"The recent moves to increase class sizes and close schools in Christchurch highlight the Governments real education agenda. This political release of information is a smokescreen to mask that.

"Each school is tackling a whole range of different issues with the kids they are teaching. Some schools are achieving amazing results from very little resourcing but the National Standards data doesn't capture any of that.

"Instead it will be used as a way to belittle these schools' true achievements.

"Schools need the Minister to wake up and realise the harm she will be doing if she unhelpfully continues with this failed experiment.

"The only place for this data is to archive it as yet another failed educational idea from this Government," said Ms Delahunty.