Independent Trial Best Way Forward for National St

new-zealand-labour-party

Thu Feb 04 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Independent Trial Best Way Forward for National St

Thursday, 4 February 2010, 2:03 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Independent Trial Best Way Forward for National Standards

An independent trial of the Government’s controversial National Standards regime would be the most sensible way to find out if it will help or hinder Kiwi children, Labour Party education spokesman Trevor Mallard said today.

“The Government has backed itself into a corner on the issue, and instead of looking for a consensus solution which is in the best interests of all concerned, Prime Minister John Key has come out fighting, with a taxpayer funded PR campaign and attacks on teachers, principals and Boards of Trustees,” Trevor Mallard said.

“But it is not too late to do the right thing. The Government should take a deep breath, take stock of the situation and put the future of schoolchildren ahead of politics.

“Opinion is fiercely divided on the merits of the scheme and parents are understandably confused. They want the best for their children and this includes the ability to find out how they are going at school. Many also fear the impact of league tables will have on their local schools.

“Rather than rushing through this untested scheme and creating angst and upheaval in communities Mr Key should announce he will approve a trial of the new scheme.

“The process would be run by an independent guardians group made up of parents, teachers and academics and headed by a leading educationalist, to provide independence to the research process.

“An ideal person to lead it would be someone of the calibre of Professor Mason Durie.

“The trial would include a rigorous assessment of any added value of National Standards compared with current formative assessment practices, such as AsTTle, which also provides feedback to parents, and would cost a fraction of the $26 million the Government is spending on its wider PR campaign,” Trevor Mallard said.

ENDS

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