National Standards: Questions and answers

Goals and targets

1. Do we have to have a reading, writing and mathematics target in our 2010 charter?
   Not in relation to National Standards. Targets related to National Standards will have to be included in your 2011 charters. For schools implementing Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, it will be the 2012 school year.
2. When is our 2010 charter due by?
   The timing hasn’t changed. But good practice suggests that it needs to be completed early in the year if it’s to be useful to you and your community.
3. Does every child need goals in reading, writing and mathematics?
   All of your students should know what goals they are working towards in reading, writing and maths and why those goals are important.
4. What about goals in the other learning areas? Do students need these as well?
   Yes. Helping students to set their own learning goals helps them to be clear about what they know and what they need to learn, and so take greater ownership of their learning. It is an important component of effective pedagogy.
5. Do we need to set learning goals with our students in relation to National Standards for 2010?
   In 2010, some of the student’s learning goals should be related to the National Standards. The previous year’s assessment information will inform your knowledge of your students. You may wish to re-assess or do more diagnosis with some students before setting goals with them, as research shows that over long holiday periods (eg summer break), some students can slip back in their learning.
6. What expectations does the Ministry have about targets? For example, do we have to get a certain percentage of our students meeting the standards by 2012?
   The Ministry will not set a blanket target for all schools. Schools will be expected to set appropriate targets for their particular students.
7. Will there be an entry standard for five year olds?
   There is no entry standard for five year olds. Children begin school at different stages and the first standard is after 40 weeks of schooling.

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Assessment

8. How often do we have to make judgments about progress and achievement in relation to the standards?
   Teachers and students should be making judgments about progress as they respond to information that assessment provides. These ongoing informal and formal judgments will contribute to reporting to parents (at least) twice during the year.
9. How are we going to show progress in relation to the National Standards, given we only have a four-point scale to work with?
   The four-point scale has been designed to show reliable differentiation in teachers’ judgments in relation to the standards. Progress against individual student’s learning goals in relation to the standards can be shown in a variety of ways. Teachers may use samples of a student’s work and many assessment tools have more finely differentiated scales which can be used to show more detailed progress in specific areas.
10. What about those students who are not meeting the standards year on year, yet are making progress? This could be really demoralising.
    It is important that students and parents have a realistic understanding of their progress and achievement and remain motivated to learn. The reporting and celebrating of progress is important here, as is indicating the possibilities of achieving higher levels in future and what is needed to achieve them.
11. What about students who aren’t at school for significant periods of time, for whatever reason?
    Any report to parents should be very clear about circumstances which may have affected student performance, including prolonged absences.
12. Are we able to use assessments from other learning areas to decide where children are against the National Standards?
    Yes, there will be assessments in other learning areas that would help to inform a teacher when making an overall teacher judgment. The NAGs make it clear that schools should use a range of assessment practices and ‘gather information that is sufficiently comprehensive’ and of ‘good quality’ when developing and implementing teaching and learning programmes in all areas of the National Curriculum, giving priority to literacy and numeracy, especially in Years 1 to 8.
    
    Schools will decide, and should be able to justify, their choices about the assessment activities and the tools and processes they use. Good practice suggests that an overall judgment about progress and achievement in reading and writing needs to be made within the context of the curriculum learning areas.
13. Will teachers be required to use norm-referenced assessment tools?
    NAG 1 (ii) requires schools to “through a range of assessment practices, gather information that is sufficiently comprehensive to enable the progress and achievement of students to be evaluated; giving priority first to student achievement in literacy and numeracy, especially in years 1-8”.
    
    In order to meet this requirement, teachers will need to use a range of assessment practices, including tools that are norm-referenced for New Zealand students.
14. How are we going to manage assessing students at age-related times rather than everyone at the same time as we do currently?
    Good practice would suggest that parents are informed as closely as possible to the ‘After 1/2/3 years at school’ period of their child’s current progress and achievement. Some schools may need to review and amend their reporting timelines. Other reporting can happen at times through the year to suit schools, eg end of year. Monitoring progress for all students consistently after 1, 2, and 3 years means teachers can act quickly when student’s progress or achievement is not as expected.
15. What about children who, at the end of 36 months at school, are in Year 4? Which standards count?
    All standards count. Each school should decide its policy for students who fall into this space, this will probably relate to the school's reporting cycles and processes. If a school has flexible reporting times, it may be appropriate to report after 36 months of schooling. If the school has a reporting schedule that follows a timeline (for example, initial interviews and goal setting, mid-year progress report, end of year report) then it may be more appropriate to use the Year 4 standard at the end of the year.
    
    Teachers should make judgments based on the assessment information they’ve gathered and analysed during the year, then decide their students’ best fit in relation to the standards. Teachers will report achievement as being above, at, below, or well below against the specific standard for each student. They also decide how best to report progress within the standard over the year or between the standards from year to year.
16. How do we compare data gathered from different sources, tools and tests?
    To make an overall teacher judgment, it’s important to use information from a variety of assessment activities. Currently, teachers moderate their understandings of achievement with each other, particularly when considering student writing. Teachers will need to discuss student learning with each other to ensure they are confident about the decisions they make using the range of information they have.
    
    To help with this, the Ministry is currently aligning commonly used reading, writing and mathematics assessment tools to the National Standards. This will help teachers to use them with confidence, as part of the evidence leading to overall teacher judgments. This information, and the research which underpins it, will be available on TKI.
17. How do I know my overall teacher judgment is right (ie valid and reliable)?
    Teachers will make their overall teacher judgments using their knowledge of each student and suitable assessment information. Guidance on aligning the most popular assessment tools to the standards will be provided to help this. At the same time, schools will be strengthening their moderation processes to support teachers collegially to make these judgments.
18. What strategies will be in place to assist the consistency of teacher judgments with the National Standards?
    Effective practice tells us that moderation processes are an important component within a school’s assessment programme. Opportunities for teachers to discuss their interpretation and judgments relative to the range of assessment evidence will build consistency of teachers’ overall teacher judgments. The process of teachers sharing their expectations and understanding of the standards with each other should provide good professional learning opportunities.
19. Will the Student Management System (SMS) be ready for the introduction of National Standards?
    We expect that SMS enhancements will start to become available to schools from mid-2010. The first enhancements are likely to provide support for plain language reporting to parents and caregivers. Other enhancements include better support for managing assessment data, and improved student record transfer between SMSs.
20. What marks will students have to get in assessments to achieve at certain levels of the standards?
    Teachers will use assessment during the course of the year, as they do now. Teachers will use assessment data to help them make an overall teacher judgement, and then determine where the student is in relation to the standard.
21. How will current assessment tools transfer to National Standards?
    Specific tools will be mapped against the standards. These include asTTle, PATs, STAR and Observation Survey. The tool maps will help teachers decide what tools they could use, and for what purpose, to support their teaching and Overall Teacher Judgments (OTJs).
22. Where can we get the literacy learning progressions from?
    The draft is available at www.literacyprogressions.org.nz/. The Ministry is finalising the progressions following consultation and this will be sent to all schools in February 2010. 
23. Are schools obliged to cover all of the achievement objectives in mathematics and statistics at each level?
    When assessing a student's achievement and progress, the teacher needs to make an overall judgment in relation to the whole standard (page 12 Mathematics Standard). There is no expectation that every achievement objective from the mathematics and statistics learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum will be covered when making an overall teacher judgment in relation to Mathematics Standards.
    
    At the heart of effective teaching and learning in mathematics are quality programmes underpinned by The New Zealand Curriculum and based on identified student strengths, interests, and needs (page 8 Mathematics Standards).
24. The Reading Standards refer to Ready to Read and Journal texts. Are the texts in the standards those that we use?
    The texts in the standards are examples only. You can use any texts at the appropriate levels to make your judgements.
25. Will the Ministry of Education publish questions to ask children to check for comprehension, and/or a checklist of criteria to assess them against at each level?
    The Ministry will not be publishing comprehension questions because there are no set texts. Schools will continue to use the methods they currently use in teaching reading - for example questioning, as well as using assessments such as Running Records, asTTle, PATs, STAR; observing students in their daily reading and writing, and monitoring their performance in their draft books.

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Reporting

24. What are boards required to report in relation to National Standards?
    Boards will be required to set National Standards targets in the 2011 charters and report against these targets in their 2011 annual reports which are submitted to the Ministry of Education by the end of May 2012.
    
    The new National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) require schools to:
• report school-level data in the Board’s Annual Report on National Standards under three headings:
• school strengths and identified areas for improvement
• the basis for identifying areas for improvement
• planned actions for lifting achievement
• report in the Board’s Annual Report on:
• the numbers and proportions of students at, above, below or well below the standards, including by Māori, Pasifika and by gender
• how students are progressing against the standards as well as how they are achieving.


These requirements apply to annual reports on the 2011 school year, except for schools implementing Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, in which case they apply from the 2012 annual reports.
25. What reports do we have to give parents?
    The National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) require schools to "report to students and their parents on the student’s progress and achievement in relation to National Standards. Reporting to parents in plain language must be at least twice a year”.
    
    This means that from February 2010, teachers will be required to report to parents in writing, at least twice a year, about how their child is progressing and achieving in relation to the reading, writing and mathematics standards.
    
    The NAGs require twice yearly reporting of both progress and achievement, but we would expect the focus of the mid-year report to be on progress in relation to the standards, with the end-of-year report to focus on the summary of their child's progress and achievement in relation to the standards.
    
    The Ministry will provide templates schools can use or adapt if they wish, which will include the headings below:
    • the goals set for the child and a description of progress against the goals
    • supporting assessment information, such as data from assessment activities
    • specific ways parents can support their child's learning
    • the measures a school is taking to address identified learning needs.

    Schools do not have to use these templates. Schools that have developed their own ways to report to parents, such as via e-portfolios, can continue to use them as long as parents receive reports of their child's progress and achievement in relation to the standards at least twice a year.

26. Why report twice a year?
    When we consulted with parents, families and whānau on National Standards, there was a strong appeal for regular reports on their children’s progress and achievement. It has been decided that twice a year fulfils this request. Schools may wish to treat the mid-year (or through year) report as a progress report rather than a comprehensive report.
27. We already report more than twice a year – should we be doing less?
    Many schools report more often than twice a year. We don’t want to restrict the frequency with which schools report to parents. Every school’s parents and whānau community is different and has different needs. Finding out what works for your community and responding appropriately is the most important thing.
28. What will the Ministry do to educate students and parents about the reports?
    The Ministry of Education website will have information in plain language for parents (which is also suitable for older students) on National Standards reporting. Teachers and schools will also be able to access this material for their parents – by printing it or linking to it on the school website. We recommend that schools and teachers talk to their students and parents about the reporting process and their role in it (student-led conferences are one example of this).
29. If we are constantly upgrading student’s portfolios, does that count as reporting?
    No, not on its own. Reporting must be a written communication of some kind, specifically addressed to each student’s parents. Portfolios could be annotated with comments addressed directly to parents to show examples of progress and achievement against the standards.
30. Do we have to report on other subjects as well?
    Yes. Schools must report to students and their parents on individual students’ achievement and progress for the whole curriculum.
31. Most of our parents are Pasifika and have English as a second language. Should we report to them in their first languages?
    Reporting in plain language is part of the requirement. This would not prevent schools from reporting in the parent’s first language if this is helpful.
32. Do we have to use the plunket graph and/or the templates?
    No. Schools will not need to use any particular graph or report template for their National Standards reporting to parents. Some template reports and graphs are on TKI. Schools can use these templates, develop their own or modify their existing reports to specifically include reporting against National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics.
33. Do I have to compare students to their class/school/other schools?
    No. The only requirement is to assess their progress and achievement against the National Standards.
34. Are teachers going to get advice or examples of plain language from the Ministry?
    Yes. The first examples are available on TKI now.
35. How prescriptive is the report format?
    All reports on reading, writing and mathematics should contain:
    • the student’s current learning goals
    • the student’s progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards
    • what the school will do to support the student’s learning
    • what parents, families and whānau can do to support the child’s learning
    • results from assessments the student has undertaken.
    
    The supplied templates are examples which can be used if desired, but schools are free to develop their own format or adapt an existing one.
36. We do fantastic student-led conferences, why do we have to now report twice in writing?
    The written reports should complement or become part of existing good practice. For example, written reports against standards could become a catalyst for the student-led conferences.
37. Will we have to spend more time teaching and assessing reading, writing and mathematics? What will happen to the rest of the curriculum?
    Reading, writing and mathematics should not be taught in isolation. Teachers need to give students rich and diverse curriculum contexts to apply and fully develop their literacy and numeracy skills and understandings.
    
    Students need appropriate achievement levels in reading, writing and mathematics to be able to access the broad curriculum outcomes, including those of the values, key competencies and the learning areas.
38. Are my reports able to be check boxes?
    Checked boxes can be included in reports, but they shouldn’t be the only way that progress is reported to parents.
39. How will we help people who don’t read, write or understand written reporting?
    You are required to send a written report to each student’s parents, but if they struggle to read it, you will probably want to arrange to talk to them about it.
40. How can schools show they are adding value in reading, writing and mathematics?
    Schools can use National Standards to show that their students are making progress from year to year through reference to the standards.
41. Is plain language different in different communities?
    The concept of plain language may vary from audience to audience, but the clear intention is that reports are written so that parents can easily understand them.
42. When will the report template be available online so we can consult with our communities as to which format the like?
    The templates are available now on the Assessment website.
43. Why did parents indicate they wanted honest reporting?
    Parents wanted good information about their children’s learning, the progress they had made and the next learning steps. They also wanted ideas and resources they could use at home.
44. Is there a template guide for what needs to be included in a BOT Annual Report and when is it to be submitted?
    There will be a variety of templates on the TKI website for all schools to use.

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Support

45. What support will the Ministry provide?
    In 2010, schools are required to work with the standards and report to parents twice in plain language.
    
    External support will include:
• workshops/webinars starting in term 4, 2009 for all principals and lead teachers to support them to understand and implement the standards in their schools
• some in-school facilitated professional development, tailored to meet the identified needs of schools or groups of teachers
• some in-depth professional development in reading, writing, mathematics, leadership and assessment. Schools that are having difficulty working with the standards or with identified achievement issues will be prioritised for this support
• materials (online and print) that will continue to be developed to support identified needs and issues
• a self review tool for teachers, principals, and boards that help schools to identify their areas of strength and areas to focus their development or access support as they start to work with the standards in 2010.

Schools involved in other PD or interventions (for example ICT PD or Schooling Improvement) will continue with those projects. Principals and lead teachers may also need to engage with the information/workshops to ensure their schools are working with the standards as part of their project work.
46. Where are we going to get support for the rest of the curriculum?
    It was clear during the consultation that many schools will be seeking support over the next year or two in using the standards. We’ve responded to this information by reprioritising funding to support these areas. There will be less centrally funded support for the other learning areas over this time. Support will be available online.
47. How do the key competencies relate to the National Standards?
    The key competencies underpin effective learning and will support learning and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics, as they do across the curriculum.
48. Will additional time or teacher release days be provided?
    No. The National Standards for most schools will involve adding to and strengthening their current good practice. In 2010, each school leadership team will need to plan how they will work with the standards, the changes they may need to make and their implementation programme as part of their in-school professional development time.
49. How will the $36 million in funding allocated for National Standards be distributed?
    The Ministry will work with the sector in 2010 to develop ways to allocate this funding. Information about this will be available after June 2010.
50. Will there be any standard text book type resources available to support teachers in reading, writing and mathematics?
    All of the current text books for teachers have been used and where there is any new information we have designed extra online modules, which will be available in 2010.
51. How will support be provided to rural schools?
    Support will be provided to small rural schools via webinars, other web-based opportunities, and face to face support if required. You can contact your local Ministry of Education office to discuss your schools needs.
52. Will the Ministry of Education provide digital templates compatible with SMS?
    There are reporting templates already on the Assessment website. There is currently a work programme at the Ministry with SMS vendors and more information will be available next year.
53. How does the Ministry intend to address access to e-asTTLe?
    The Ministry is aware that there is a waiting list for e-asTTle and is working to address this. There will be teacher access only opportunity from February 2010. Schools will need to have the minimum IT infrastructure to access it. It is suggested that you contact 0800 225 5428, select option 2 to find out more about this and to obtain an ESAA login.
    
    However, having asTTle is not a requirement. The other tools are valuable and e-asTTle is not a requirement for good assessment or the making of sound Overall Teacher Judgments (OTJs).
54. Which SMS vendors is the Ministry working with?
    Integris, MUSAC, ETAP, KAMAR, School Master.
55. Are schools still eligible to get a SMS system? Is the Ministry still funding it? Eg training
    Yes, If you believe your school may be eligible for financial assistance to get an SMS (including training) then please contact the Ministry's SMS Services team mle.project@minedu.govt.nz [no spam], phone 04-463 7666. You will most likely be eligible if you:
• are a state or state integrated school; and
• have not previously received financial assistance from the Ministry to get an SMS.
56. Are there other supporting notes available that provide additional detail about how the focus is not entirely on the three National standards ahead of other curriculum areas?
    The TKI website has a number of factsheets that you can download for additional information. There is a factsheet entitled National Standards and The New Zealand Curriculum that has the kind of information you are seeking.
57. Will the Ministry of Education be giving schools support to engage in moderation across schools in clusters by providing facilitation and time to provide this consistency?
    We are planning on holding moderation workshops in 2010, when teacher from schools can get together and talk about the judgements they are making.

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ESOL and students with special education needs

58. Why will students with special education needs be assessed against the standards?
    Most students with special education needs will be able to progress against and achieve the standards.
    
    A very small group of students have very significant learning disabilities; and are in the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme (ORRS) or are accessing the Supplementary Learning Support service; and are likely to learn long-term within Level 1 of The New Zealand Curriculum. These students’ progress will be assessed against the standards as part of their individual education plans.
    
    Boards of trustees will continue to report on these students separately in their charters and annual reports.
59. How are we going to account for ESOL students in our reporting?
    Progress and achievement for new English Language Learners will initially be judged and reported to parents against the English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP). There is more detailed information about this in the National Standards books.
    
    Boards will report in their annual reports on the progress of children who are new English Language Learners against the National Standards along with all other students. Work is underway to relate the ELLP to the National Standards so that teachers can make a judgement about how a new English Language Learner is progressing in relation to the reading and writing standards.
60. Will teacher training courses cover the National Standards?
    Teacher training providers are independent organisations and design their own courses. However the courses must allow graduates to meet teacher registration criteria that are set by the New Zealand Teachers Council. The Council requires teacher training to equip students to meet the Graduating Teacher Standards Aotearoa.
    
    Standard Five: graduating teachers use evidence to promote learning requires that graduating teachers:
• gather, analyse and use assessment information to improve learning and inform planning
• know how to communicate assessment information appropriately to learners, their parents/caregivers and staff.
61. What happens when you have only one special needs student - they will be easily identified in the annual report?
    When boards report school level progress and achievement for all students in relation to the National Standards, their report will include most students, including most students who have special education needs.
    
    There is one exception. The small number of students who have very significant learning disabilities and are funded through ORRS or receiving Supplementary Learning Support and are likely to learn long term within Level One of the The New Zealand Curriculum can be reported separately in the boards report of school level data.
    
    For this group of students, progress will be assessed against the standards as part of their individual IEP process and boards of trustees will report on these students' progress separately in their charters and annual reports.
62. If we are to report on the various groups separately, will that not compromise student confidentiality – ie if we only have a few ESOL students?
    Boards will need to include most students in their reports, including special needs students, provided this does breach an individual’s privacy. Schools and especially small schools will need to decide how to do this – much in the same way as they do now when reporting about particular groups of students.
63. What level of reporting on special needs and ESOL students is expected to be in the annual report?
    Board reporting for students with very significant learning disabilities
    Boards will report school-level progress and achievement for all students in relation to the National Standards, including students who have special education needs.
    
    However, boards can report the progress and achievement of student with very significant learning disabilities separately. The small number of students who have very significant learning disabilities and are funded through the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS) or receiving Supplementary Learning Support (SLS) and are likely to learn long term within Level 1 of The New Zealand Curriculum can be reported separately in the boards report of school-level data.
    
    For this group of students, progress will be assessed against the standards as part of their Individual Education Programme (IEP) processes and boards of trustees will report on these students’ progress separately in their charters and annual reports.
64. Will the templates that are going to be on TKI be applicable to special needs?
    IEPs will still be used, please check out the factsheet on special needs students on TKI. Schools can use and adapt any of the templates on TKI to suit their own needs and purposes.
65. Are children who do not speak English supposed to meet the same achievements in the same deadline?
    English language learners and National Standards
    In 2010 there will be approximately 28,000 Year 1 to 8 students in just over 1000 schools who are English language learners (students with English as a second language). These students come from diverse backgrounds and include migrants, refugees and international students.
    
    From 2010 all English-medium schools with Year 1 to 8 students will use National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The standards aim to ensure all students can learn across the curriculum.
    
    National Standards will set benchmarks of progress and achievement that may be unrealistic for children who are new learners of English. Progress and achievement for English language learners may initially be reported against the English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) instead of the national reading and writing standards.
    
    ELLP provides a guide to typical language learning pathways for a student learning English as an additional language. Schools and teachers will use an Overall Teacher Judgment (OTJ) to determine whether reporting using ELLP or National Standards is more appropriate for individual learners. At all times, for all students, the national cohort expectations will be kept in view.
    
    Guideline for students in Years 1–4
    Progress and achievement for students working within Foundation and Stage One may be tracked, monitored and reported to parents against the ELLP for a period of up to two years. After this time, it is expected that progress and achievement will be reported in relation to the National Standards.
    
    Guideline for students in Years 5–8
    Progress and achievement for students working within Foundation, Stage One or Stage Two may be tracked, monitored and reported to parents against the ELLP for a period of up to three years. After this time, it is expected that progress and achievement will be reported in relation to the National Standards.
    
    These ELLP thresholds (Foundation and Stage One for Years 1 to 4, and Foundation and Stages One and Two for Years 5 to 8), will be tested and as a result may be revised at a later date.
    
    English language learners and Mathematics Standards
    Students learn mathematics through language and, to a great extent, display their knowledge and understanding of mathematics through language. At all times principals and teachers will need to be cognisant of the needs of English language learners and the implications of this for displaying their understanding of mathematics.
    
    Professional development and support using the English Language Learning Progressions will be available from 2010 for teachers with English language learners.

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ERO

66. What will ERO be asking us about the standards in 2010? What will they expect to see?
    In all 2010 primary school reviews, ERO will ask about your level of understanding and preparedness to use the standards at teacher, school leader and board level. As usual, ERO will ask about your assessment practices and your achievement information. In particular they will be interested in:
• the quality of teaching and learning within The New Zealand Curriculum
• how you are using data to focus your teaching on identified groups of students, and how you are involving students in setting and understanding their learning goals
• how you make your judgments about student achievement – especially the ways you moderate these judgments to ensure consistency and reliability
• how you are reporting to parents in ways they can understand and help them assist with their children’s learning
• how school leaders use assessment information to benchmark achievement and how you are preparing to use the standards to set targets in your 2011 charters. ERO will ask how you use this information as part of your self review
• how your current school practices enable: teachers to use assessment data to provide focused teaching; teachers to make judgments about student achievement and rates of progress; teachers to report accurately to parents and students; school leaders to benchmark achievement information to inform self review and to plan and report.
  
ERO will provide a national report on how schools are preparing to use standards as part of their teaching and learning in The New Zealand Curriculum.

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Communication

67. How are parents going to be told about this?
    The Ministry of Education website has plain language information for parents (which is also suitable for older students) on National Standards. Teachers and schools will be able to use this material for their parents – by printing it, or linking to it on the school website. We recommend that schools and teachers talk to their students and parents about the reporting process and their role in it (student-led conferences are one example of this).
68. How are boards going to be informed?
    Boards will be informed about the standards through training (including webinars and face-to-face) and regular updates in the Education Gazette’s Board View. Training will be integrated into existing resources such as the Circulars and NZSTA memos. The Ministry of Education will also work with the NZSTA to ensure information is distributed to boards.
69. What is the role of boards in setting standards?
    In 2010 teachers and principals will focus on working with the standards and reporting to parents. Boards should review (using the self-review tool) school assessment practices and ensure teachers report to parents on their child’s progress and achievement against the standards.
    
    The overall teacher judgments in relation to standards in 2010 will inform targets against the National Standards in the 2011 charter and give a focus for resource and professional development in 2011. The planning and reporting requirements will be published in the revised NAGs after they are gazetted on 29 October 2009.
70. How do the standards relate to existing documents and strategies, such as Ka Hikitia?
    The National Standards are designed to support teaching and learning and have been written to complement the curriculum. By focusing the education system on reading, writing and mathematics, the standards will help all students learn across the curriculum. The standards will give parents, families and whānau good information about their children’s progress and achievement and suggest ways they can support their child’s learning.
    
    The National Standards support existing initiatives such as Ka Hikitia.

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Early childhood education and secondary schools

71. How will secondary schools be informed about the National Standards?
    Copies of the National Standards pack and information brochure have been sent to all schools with Year 9 students.
72. What professional development will secondary schools receive on the National Standards?
    The focus in 2010 is to support all primary and intermediate schools to work with the standards and to report to parents in plain language in relation to the standards.
73. How will secondary schools gather student data from contributing schools?
    The Ministry and NZQA are developing new literacy and numeracy standards for NCEA. When this work is completed, we will need to design how we will support primary, intermediate and secondary teachers to manage the sharing of student data across transitions and how the standards relate to each other. We will be working on this during 2010.
74. How do the National Standards relate to early childhood education?
    National Standards aim to lift achievement in literacy and numeracy by helping teachers, students and families be clear about what students should achieve and by when. They come into effect in 2010 for English-medium schools with pupils in Years 1 to 8. National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics will be used to assess children's learning progress after the first 12 months of attendance at school. The development of National Standards in schooling has not changed Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum.
    
    Te Whāriki the early childhood education (ECE) curriculum links to The New Zealand Curriculum in schools. Parents can expect children to develop early skills in literacy and numeracy while their children are enrolled in ECE.
    
    Earlier this year the Ministry of Education released the final books in Kei Tua o te Pae Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars. This series of books entitled Symbol Systems and Technologies for Making Meaning, include exemplars focused on assessing oral, visual and written literacy (book 17) and mathematics (book 18) in early childhood settings. These resources will encourage teachers, parents, families and whānau to notice, recognise and respond to children using these concepts, and develop children's literacy and numeracy confidence and competence.
    
    The Ministry of Education has confidence in the professionalism of teachers and educators in the sector, who work with families on a daily basis, to communicate the importance of children's learning that happens in early childhood services.