The Government is making another backwards step for education that will leave students behind, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“Erica Stanford is hellbent on a one size fits all education system. National Standards have failed students before, going back to standardised testing is taking us down the same path,” Jan Tinetti said.

“National does not seem to have any care for students who are falling behind. They’ve scrapped one-on-one literacy support through Reading Recovery. Just making all students sit the same test to get aggregate data at an oversight level won’t help the kids that are struggling.

“It will only work if it’s followed through with interventions to pick up students who need a bit more help. We have not heard from the Government its plan for making sure that happens, instead it has made cuts to intervention programmes and did not give learning support any additional funding in this year’s budget.

“I’m increasingly worried that we are being taken backwards by a Minister that is going too far too fast, without strong evidence or input from schools and teachers. The curriculum shouldn’t be a political football and changed every three years.

“Forcing children to do an hour each of reading, writing and maths every day isn’t going to make them enjoy it or learn better, and more intensive testing isn’t going to make school a place they want to be.

“It looks like another step by National to bring back its failed experiment of National Standards. It’s just buzz words and sound bites to paper over the cracks in Erica Standford’s and Christopher Luxon’s understanding of what is happening in our schools,” Jan Tinetti said.

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