National Standards – a Debacle Like Novopay?
New Zealand First
Tracy Martin MP
Spokesperson for
Education
National Standards – a Debacle Like
Novopay?
There is increasing concern
National Standards results are flawed and the Government is
using flawed data to make educational achievements look
better than they actually are says New Zealand First.
Education spokesperson Tracey Martin says the
Ministry of Education is set to publish National Standards
for reading, writing and mathematics this month and
questions whether these results can be
trusted.
“Many principals are alarmed to see that
last year’s adjustment to the test has caused inflated
results, with students achieving far higher than
expected.
“It’s particularly noticeable in some
of the lower decile schools, where I’ve been told results
are 20 to 30 per cent higher than in the
past.
“This shows there’s a massive flaw in the
testing, producing inflated results and wrong
data.”
Ms Martin says no one can argue with the
need to have a high standard of achievement but even the
Ministry has acknowledged there’s a
problem.
“How can schools trust the data? They
need accurate information to target support where it’s
needed the most and this can’t happen when test results
don’t match reality.
"The Government will relish
the chance to claim its National Standards have made a
difference when voters head to the polls in 2014, but
parents want to know the true picture and they’re not
getting it.
“With the National Standards
publishing date fast approaching we urge the Government to
stop National Standards becoming another debacle like
Novopay,” says Ms
Martin.
ENDS