While there is a questionable moral imperative for the implementation on the National Standards from our government, I must share a gem of an attitude shared with us during the Michael Fullan seminars from early November.

National Standards are to be exploited, not implemented.

This brings in to question our real moral imperative.  I believe our moral imperative as educators is now to use the standards to make a difference to our kids.  If the policy makers make this difficult, we need to stick to our guns.

While I commend all of the work being done by our academic educational experts. it is now time to accept that this is being done whether we like it or not, for better or for worse until cabinet reshuffle do us part…

Enough!  I am now over National Standards and have moved through all of the stages of grief and am now on to ‘acceptance’…

I accept that these standards will:

• Make Schools and teachers accountable (I am convinced that this is the ‘not so hidden’ agenda) for nationwide student achievement
• Allow the Government to standardise reporting on student achievement
• If used well, could inform school improvement
• Be implemented regardless of the fuss kicked up by the sector and other experts
• Lead to ‘plain language’ reporting to parents
• Will lead to direct comparison of ‘perceived’ school performance
• Detract from teaching and learning as we build the learning around the assessment, rather than the assessment around the learning.

And as part of my ‘acceptance’ our team will implement these in a way that is morally responsible for our learners and ensuring that our learning culture and learning focus is at the forefront of what we do.

I will speak no more of these ‘Stand DUD s’ in this forum.

Here endeth the lesson.

Up until now I have not heard much from Mr Hattie regarding National Standards. He clearly is a man who likes to take time to make a measured and reasoned response.  Congratulations to him. This is indeed a worthy response (assuming the source is accurate!!).

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/education/news/article.cfm?c_id=35&objectid=10587936

Read what you will into the title of this post… a play on words about the National Government, my beliefs about the way we have been consulted ‘with’ (National taking a stand), or how I view the impact of this proposed intervention to lift national student achievement (dud).  Regardless of all of the discussion around National Standards (The link takes you to Derek Wenmouth’s very good blog post on consultation around national standards), it is very evident to me, that it is not the National Government’s intention to do much, for example:

• Q:  Will this lead to national testing?
• A: It is not our intention that this will lead to national testing
• Q: How will this affect our current curriculum developments and implementation?
• A: It is not our intention that this will take over those priorities, curriculum implementation is still your priority. (WHAAAAAAAT!  You want these implemented by next year!!!)
• Q: What about league tables?  Are we going to be faced with league tables?
• A: It is not our intention that national standards will lead to the publication of league tables.

Ohh please, I may have looked a bit ’shell-shocked’, but I didn’t have ‘prize winning turnip’ written over my face!  While these may not be intentions, they could certainly result in everyone of these.  The grey areas surrounding the implementation of these standards are enormous, gaping chasms which require more than rope and crampons to traverse.  The consultation around these standards has been poor, ill-timed and badly planned in terms of implementation time frames and the fact that some regions were left out of the consultation altogether!  And I believe that is because what is intended and what agenda informs this stand, is not being made clear.

I must point out that I am not frightened about these standards (see this earlier post), in fact, we are attempting to plan to implement our own way of communicating achievement to learners and parents directly related to curriculum levels as part of our implementation of the New Zealand Curriculum.  What does frighten me, is the nature of the consultation, and that 49% Schools are failing to do this (According to ERO).

What is clearly ‘intended’ by the National Government, is that these be implemented as soon as possible.  Well this is good, there is some intent (*sarcasm*)… what intent is less clear is that, are these standards for learners, or parents?  The Ministry of Education’s statement:

This will help students; their teachers and parents, families and whānau better understand what they are aiming for and what they need to do next.

…indicates that this is good for all of us.  But is anyone asking the big question?  HOW DO WE KNOW THIS?  Is it because Mr Hattie says so?  (I am unsure – he has been quiet on this issue despite being quoted in the National Party’s flyer on National Standards prior to last year’s elections… but we know that Mrs Tolley is a fan).  I want to see the cast iron proof that this has the pedagogical power to do what the government say it will do.

I believe we (the students, parents, teachers and community) are owed this, before this potentially flawed and rushed policy becomes reality, and a potential ‘dud’.

…and if we don’t get this?  Well, it doesn’t really matter we will implement them in a way that works for our kids anyway.

Check out this blog post too! (Thanks AllanahK)

I am thinking again… very dangerous (I could get hurt!)

There has been lots of discussion in NZ Education Circles about the upcoming national standards for literacy and numeracy… some informed… some less so…

My question is:

Are we going to have standards for creativity, analysis, contribution, caring, relationship and people skills, communication etc and all of the other things we need to value for the 21st Century learner – and arguably to make our country a better place?

“…I think the  more information that’s out there the better…”  Anne Tolley

The above statement made by NZ Education Minister Anne Tolley in reference to National Standards and League Tables is at the very least, interesting.

I support the use of quality assessment and data to improve outcomes on a variety of levels – individual, cohort, school and national/international.  What interests me about the Minister’s statement is not how much information is out there, but the quality of information and how that information informs improvement.  More information is not necessarily better – we need to avoid ‘information overload‘ because it could lack quality, complicate our purpose and also lack validity.

I also have a caveat around the use of the standards and league tables, actually I have two caveats.  Number 1. I would be hesitant to let standards inform curriculum.  I am sure that Mary Chamberlain and her team will not allow this to happen and that our curriculum (and subsequently our literacy learning progressions etc.) will actually inform our standards.  I hope this is the case and wait with anticipation the consultation process and what these standards will potentially look like.  If the standards are being used to inform improvement across the board and not curriculum, then the first caveat could be a non-event.

Number 2.  I am very reluctant to see league tables become the tool by which School performance is measured (We have ERO for that!).  People in communities who blindly and ignorantly follow a league table are bound to be sadly misinformed and as a result we may see increased ‘School Flight’.  In this way league tables can perpetually maintain and reinforce the perceived ‘high achievement’ of certain schools.  To resolve this there needs to be some freedom around the standards to report on whole school achievement which is relevant to school improvement.  I believe that this would prevent direct comparison of schools against each other and the standards (unless they were all reporting against the same standard in the same year level AND curriculum area!).  As for the ignorance around it?  I maintain that ‘ignoritis’ can be cured through a good course of education.

Of course all of this is pie in the sky until we see the drafts and policy to determine what this will look like and how this resource can be used for School improvement.

Too much information?