National Standards and Reporting to Parents

1. National Standardsand Reporting to Parents Ellen Pratley Elizabeth Kennedy Sarah Mark Professional Studies EDUP 362 2012

2. What are National Standards? “…basis for judgment of student achievement”(Wyatt-Smith & Klenowski, 2010, p.13). “…represent a consensus…on what students must know and be able to do”(Zepke et al., 2005, cited in Wyatt-Smith & Klenowski, 2010, p. 40). “…set out what can reasonably be expected of most students by the end of the…year”(Ministry of Education, 2011).

3. Ministry of Education - Reporting how your child is doing“Reporting to parents, families and whānau regularly, clearly showing their children’s progress and achievement in reading, writing and maths is an important part of National Standards.” (Ministry of Education, 2012a) • From 2010, schools must report twice a year to parents, families and whānau about their child’s progress and achievement in reading, writing, and maths in relation to the National Standards. • Schools must use ‘plain language’ and clearly show the child’s progress and achievement, in relation to National Standards. • Other areas of the curriculum will continue to be reported as they currently are. • Parents, families and whānausupport is virtual to children’s learning at school. (Ministry of Education, 2012a)

4. (Body, 2010)

5. How is the student assessed? • Teachers must form an ‘Overall Teacher Judgment’ by using a range of approaches to accurately summarise a student’s achievement, areas requiring attention and how a student’s progress sits against the National Standards. • Evidence may be gathered by: • -Conversingwith the student to find out what they know, understand and can do. • -Observingthe processes a student uses. • -Gathering the results from assessments tools. • (Ministry of Education, 2011) (Ministry of Education, 2011)

6. (Slane, nd)

7. Meeting the Standards • Students are identified as being “below”, “at” or “above” the National Standard. • Reading and Writing Standards • Make an overall judgment based on R&W in wider curriculum • Reading- “Students will read, respond to, and think critically about….texts” (Ministry of Education, 2009b, p. 8). • Writing- “Students will create texts …to meet specific learning purposes across the curriculum” (Ministry of Education, 2009b, p. 8). • Mathematics Standards • “…place a strong emphasis on students’ ability to solve problems and model situations” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 10) rather than just demonstrating knowledge. • “A strong understanding of Number is vital” (Ministry of Education, 2009c, p. 12).

8. (George Street Normal School, 2011) ((Balmacewen Intermediate, 2011)

9. We gathered feedback from a number of teachers and parents nationwide on National Standards and reporting to parents. Here is what they had to say….

10. Teachers’ Comments • “It is just achievement in 3 areas- there’s more to a person- some children are good at other subjects. It knocks their confidence.”- Yr 3-4 teacher with 25 years experience • “I have a deeper understanding of my children than a one off test can ever portray- gathering information about a child is cumulative- and should be a result of combination of testing over time and judgment.” -Yr1-2 teacher • “National Standards reporting requirements give much less information which is why we continue to use our previous system- with National Standards added……It’s an added report that is not adding any further information.” – Yr 2 Teacher • “I find that it treats learners as linear and age related.” – Yr 5 Teacher • “Parents are not pleased with National Standards. It certainly can’t be a stand alone method of reporting.” -Yr 3-4 teacher with 25 years experience • “Children come to school with different strengths, NS have a focus of test results rather than the ‘whole student’ and his/her development and learning.” Yr 5 Teacher • “It does not account for special needs and ESOL children who are already behind their cohort yet are still making progress at their own rate.” –Yr 2 Teacher • “Some children are individual, one way doesn’t suit all.” Yr 5 teacher (Kennedy et al., 2012a)

11. Parents’ Views From the responses we found: 85% of parents have received information about their child in regard to National Standards None believed that National Standards “veryaccurately” measured their child’s achievement. 73% believed that National Standards “accurately” measured their child’s achievement”. 18% believed that National Standards “inaccurately” measured their child’s achievement. 9% believed that National Standards “very inaccurately” measured their child’s achievement. (Kennedy et al., 2012b)

12. Parents’ Comments • ”Although I feel National Standards accurately measure my child’s achievement, I believe they should be a guide and you should never put any child down as failing.” • "I know how my kids are doing by having good relationship with teachers” • “Each child is unique and has their own strengths and weaknesses. My child may have strengths in areas that the National Standards doesn't look at. I know that the National Standards are very limited, and because of that I give them little attention.” • "I am sure most parents like to know how their child "measures up" against others, but with a rating system of below, meeting, exceeding there isn't actually any information provided.” • ”My understanding is there is a benchmark set & you see where your child is compared to the NS. It’s clear and I like it” • "My son knows he is below the standard for Maths and now believes that Maths is something he can't do. It makes him anxious.” • "We have not talked to our children about where they sit in relation to National Standards. They are both achieving extremely highly: they already recognise "I am in the top maths/reading group" and we see no need to encourage them to feel "I am cleverer than other people".” • "With a child above the National Standards and one below I am yet to see the advantages of this "ranking" system.” (Kennedy et al., 2012b)

13. Take Home Messages • New Zealand primary school teachers must report to parents against the National Standards. • National Standards is only one way of reporting student achievement to parents. Including teacher judgment and other assessment tools when reporting to parents gives a more holistic view of the child’s achievement. • Teachers having good relationships with learners and their whānau help to support students’ learning and achievement at school. • Most parents see National Standards as an accurate reflection of their child’s ability but they can neglect other important factors (i.e. effort) and other areas of the curriculum (i.e. The Arts) which parents and teachers feel are valuable. • In addition to reporting the child’s place in relation to the Standards, it is helpful to provide further feedback through extra comments on their report, interviews and informal meetings. This way, parents will be better able to support their child’s learning. • Teachers should use the National Standards as a guide to students’ next learning steps.

14. References • BalmacewenIntermediate (2011). End of Year Report 2011. Student report. • Body, G. (2010). "Unfortunately, Susie, it doesn't meet the new national standard”. Cartoon. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/guy-body/news/article.cfm?a_id=149&objectid=10656495. • George Street Normal School (2011). End of Year Learning Summary 2011. Student report. • Kennedy, E., Mark, S. & Pratley, E. (2012a). National Standards and Reporting to Parents. Teacher survey. • Kennedy, E., Mark, S. & Pratley, E. (2012b). National Standards and Reporting to Parents. Parent survey. • Ministry of Education (2009a). Working towards school-wide targets for student achievement. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/National-Standards/Key-information/Information-for-schools/National-Standards-launch-pack/2011. • Ministry of Education (2009b). Reading and Writing Standards or years 1-8. Learning Media Ltd.,Wellington. • Ministry of Education (2009c). Mathematic Standards for years 1-8. Learning Media Ltd.,Wellington. • Ministry of Education (2011). Fact Sheet 7 : Overall Teacher Judgment. Learning Media Ltd., Wellington. • Ministry of Education (2012a). Reporting how your child is doing. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents/YourChild/ProgressAndAchievement/NationalStandards/ReportingHowChildDoing.aspx • Slane, C. (nd). "If school athletics were run like a narrow national standards test.” Cartoon. Retrieved from http://www.slane.co.nz/cartoons.html. • Wyatt-Smith, C. & Klenowski, V. (2010) Role and purpose of standards in the context of national curriculum and assessment reform for accountability, improvement and equity in student learning. Curriculum Perspectives, 30(3). pp. 37‐47. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/37810/