2007 Education Policy on National Standards

Click here for a (2008) policy summary PDF document.

National's policy is to introduce three key requirements for all primary and intermediate schools:

• Clear National Standards: Set national standards in reading, writing and numeracy. The standards will describe all the things children should be able to do by a particular age or year at school. They will be defined by benchmarks in a range of tests.
• Effective Assessment: Require primary schools to use assessment programmes that compare the progress of their students with other students across the country. Schools will choose from a range of tests, but there won't be national exams.
• Upfront Reporting: Give parents the right to see all assessment information, and to get regular reports about their child's progress towards national standards. Schools will also have to report each year on the whole school's performance against national standards.

For a comprehensive discussion, go to www.national.org.nz/education.

Policy Q&A

Why does New Zealand need National Standards?

National standards will give schools from Kaitaia to Bluff a set of shared expectations about what students should be achieving as they move through primary school.

Teachers will use national standards to clearly identify students who are at risk of missing out on basic skills and becoming a permanent part of the “tail” of under-achievement.
 

Click to download the complete Q&A document as a PDF.

Speech: Encouraging Success - Confronting Failure

Speech delivered by National Party Leader, John Key,
at the University of Auckland Education Campus
02 April 2007

Dr John Langley, Dr Liz McKinley, principals, teachers and future teachers, those who are passionate about education; thank you all for coming here today.

I can't exaggerate the importance of education enough, both for individual students and for the future of New Zealand.

To make this country great we have to ensure we get the best out of the 11 or so years every young New Zealander spends at school.

To continue reading, click here


John Key video on National Standards - 04 April 2007