Background
Extending High Standards Across Schools (EHSAS) is a government initiative designed to raise student achievement by promoting excellence among the country's schools.
The Extending High Standards Across Schools initiative is designed to improve student outcomes by making funding available for schools to develop and extend their proven practice in collaboration with other schools. The emphasis is on developing professional networks and improving the evidence base around processes and practices that contribute to improved student outcomes.
Key details
The principles behind EHSAS are to raise student achievement by:
promoting excellence in the school system; and
supporting high standards.
The objective of EHSAS is to improve student outcomes by assisting schools to further develop effective processes and practices with other schools. A key element of this initiative will be schools working collaboratively to extend their practice.
The intended outcomes of EHSAS are:
| Outcome |
Indicator |
|
Strengthened professional learning communities of schools and increased collaboration |
Collaboration within and between networks of schools. Eventually the knowledge gained from Extending High Standards Across Schools may also help inform practice of other interested groups in the education sector. |
|
Improved student outcomes |
Schools, through boards of trustees and principals, should be able to show evidence of improved student achievement - particularly in critical areas (those identified through self review) and across broad student groups. |
|
Improved teaching quality |
Schools will use evidence-based decision-making to inform teaching practices and support a culture that encourages the effective use of data. |
|
A developing knowledge base of models of effectiveness and examples of practices and processes that can be used to enhance school performance |
The information gained as a result of this initiative is for the benefit of all schools. Teachers, principals, boards of trustees, students, school communities and the Ministry will have a better understanding of the practices and processes that have enhanced student achievement. |
|
Increased opportunities for teachers to work with colleagues to inquire into and strengthen their professional knowledge and practice |
Teachers use student information as the basis for professional decision-making.
Students are engaged and positive about their learning and achievements. |
The outcomes sought through EHSAS will be achieved by ensuring that schools involved are:
demonstrating high standards across a range of performance indicators including student achievement and engagement;
- effectively making use of student data to drive their teaching and learning practices;
- analysing the performance of different students, identifying barriers to learning that need to be addressed, and overcoming these barriers;
- developing and implementing strategies that raise student achievement;
- committing resources to the achievement of their goals;
- able to identify where additional support6 would increase their students' ability to achieve, and accelerate and sustain improvements in student outcomes; and
- committed to collaborating with other schools.
By promoting excellence in the school sector EHSAS will help raise achievement for all students. By identifying processes and practices currently operating in schools and which are having a significant impact on student achievement, and assisting schools to work collaboratively with others, this initiative has the potential to bring about significant system level change.
Overseas examples
Internationally a number of programmes exist that seek to improve student outcomes by:
- identifying success in schooling systems;
- analysing and learning from experience; and
- disseminating critical knowledge and ideas.
In the United Kingdom the Leading Edge Partnership Programme (LEPP) was developed with the intention of working with practitioners to identify leading edge practice in tackling underperformance and to determine how this might be developed, spread and built upon. The Leading Schools Fund (LSF) programme in Victoria, Australia is also designed to stimulate innovation in schools and build infrastructures to transfer knowledge and practice laterally.
Both LEPP and LSF are built on the foundations of literature about system improvement which focuses on building capability in the system through collaboration and innovation. The three key elements in the international research about system improvement are:
- individualisation and assessment for learning
- interdependence - spreading practice and innovation across the system through professional learning communities
- building capacity for sustainable system improvement.
These three elements encourage the following:
- the use of data in setting baselines and understating progress
- building the professional learning community of teachers working together using data to improve teaching and learning
- building capacity through sharing practice, building capability, consistent use of data and self review, and collaboratively working together for the achievement of all students.
These elements are already at work in New Zealand. For example, in the Best Evidence Synthesis and AToL work. Lessons from schooling improvement partnerships, SEMO and AIMHI and from the ICT PD clusters have further shown that working collegially, being clear about goals, and sharing practice within and across schools can create more robust systems for effective teaching and learning.
EHSAS will also build on the international evidence. For example, the use of data, reflective practice and self review to highlight shifts in student achievement is a key foundation of EHSAS; as is the focus on building communities or partnerships of schools with a clear focus on a specific strategy which will strengthen teaching practices within schools.