National Standards: Lifting Education Standards

Message from the PM
National Standards in education are a critical part of the National-led Government’s plan for securing a brighter future for New Zealand.

New Zealand deserves a future with more highly-skilled citizens, who have better job prospects, greater life choices and, in turn, who live in a society with less dysfunction, unemployment, welfare dependence and crime.

This policy is a critical step along the pathway to achieving that. I hope you and your family make the most of it.

John Key
Prime Minister
Leader of the National Party

What you can expect

The National-led Government is determined to improve education standards.

From the start of this school term children in Years 1-8 will benefit from our new National Standards policy. 

National Standards will ensure primary and intermediate schools regularly assess their students’ progress in reading, writing and maths, and that this essential information is provided to parents.

Schools will use National Standards to report to parents on the progress your child makes, and how their achievement compares with other children their age.

Why National Standards?

As many as one in five Kiwi children are leaving school without the basic literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed. 
>>   National Standards will help identify struggling children
early, ensuring they receive the support they need
before it’s too late.

While many schools use tests, there’s not been one standard which all children are measured against. 
>>   National Standards will ensure children’s achievement
can be compared from one school to another, no
matter what tests their school uses or what school
they attend.

Many parents tell us they’re not happy with the ‘politically correct’ and ‘sugar-coated’ school reports they receive. 
>>   National Standards will ensure parents receive
straight-forward, plain-language reports about exactly
how their children are doing.

Reliable Benchmarks & Effective Testing

Your child will be regularly tested by their school to reliably measure how they are doing in reading, writing and maths.  These assessments will be designed to show any problem areas and learning strengths, to inform teaching, and to track progress towards learning goals.

What this means for you: You and your child will get a clear picture of how they are going at school. It means:

Your child, their teacher and their school will know if they are slipping behind.

Your school can intervene early to help your child when they are having problems.

Your school can work with you and your child to set ambitious learning goals for the future.

You can find out how your child’s progress compares to last year, or with other children their age.

Plain-LANGUAGE reporting

All primary and intermediate schools are now required to provide regular plain language reports to parents about how their children are progressing in relation to National Standards.

What you can expect: Parents will expect to receive a written report at least twice a year which includes:

A simple indication of whether your child is below, at, or above the National Standard in the key areas of reading, writing and maths. This could include Plunket-style graphs like those shown below.

Your child’s learning goals and their progress and achievement in relation to National Standards.

What your school is doing to support your child’s learning.

Advice about how you and your family can support your child’s reading, writing and maths learning at home.

Results from the tests your child has taken as part of their National Standards assessment.

NOTE! These are just minimum requirements. Schools will continue to report other important information such as how your child is behaving in class, and how they’re doing in wider learning areas. 

Click here for a larger version of the flowchart image below - which outlines how a programme might look.

Support for your CHILD AND YOUR school

The Government expects teachers and principals to take action when children are not reaching National Standards.   We are assisting schools by ensuring they have the tools they need to make National Standards work and to support children who are falling behind.

We are providing:

$26m worth of targeted professional development funding to ensure teachers and schools are up-skilled to make the most of National Standards.

$36m in additional funding to be targeted at struggling students.

$75m for specialist teachers who assist schools with students experiencing learning and behaviour difficulties.

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Click here to download the National Standards Brochure in PDF

Contact

Contact us with your comments or suggestions