Response to feedback
Reporting to parents
Schools will report to parents in plain language on their children’s achievement and progress in 2010. The Ministry will develop information for parents that will outline expectations of the standards, summarise key aspects of the consultation feedback from parents, provide information on assessment tools, and include ideas on what parents can do at home to support learning.
The Ministry will provide guidelines for schools to support plain language reporting, including examples in 2009 and 2010.
The New Zealand Curriculum
The National Standards are set within the context of The New Zealand Curriculum and describe the levels of achievement in reading, writing and mathematics required for successful learning in all learning areas.
Information will be available for principals and teachers in late 2009 and early 2010 explaining how the National Standards align with The New Zealand Curriculum. Specific exemplars will be provided.
League tables
The Ministry will work with the school sector during 2010 to design ways that schools can report overall student progress.
Timeframe issues
During 2010 schools will use the standards to guide teaching and learning, report to parents about children’s progress and achievement against the standards, and develop their 2011 charters including baseline data and targets in relation to the standards.
The date for the first reports to the Ministry on school-level data has been extended from 2011 to 2012.
Design of standards
Reading and Writing
The standards design team is working to ensure the standards and the Literacy Learning Progressions are aligned. The criteria in the standards are being revised to make expectations clear, and exemplars have been further developed so they align with the standards and reflect a broad range of achievement within each standard.
Mathematics
The mathematics standards are being reorganised to reflect the strands in the mathematics and statistics learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum.
The explanatory support material will illustrate students’ levels of achievement against the standards.
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Effects on students
There is a significant range of existing support and guidance for students who are not achieving in literacy and numeracy. The Ministry will work with the school sector during 2010 on how to allocate $34 million over four years appropriated in Budget 2009/10 to help schools support students who are not meeting the standards.
English language learners will be assessed against the English Language Learning Progressions. As students gain proficiency in English, teachers can begin assessing their achievement against the standards. Students with high cognitive impairments will have expectations set through their Individual Education Plans.
Both schools and the Ministry will continue work on addressing the causes of low attendance.
Standards are based on The New Zealand Curriculum which suggests a range of achievement for each year level and by implication a rate of progress. Teachers will be encouraged to make this clear in their discussion with parents.
Assessment
Tools
Assessment will not rely on any one test or assessment tool. Teachers and schools will decide the mix of assessment information to gather that best suits their context and student needs, and enables good decision-making about each student’s learning and their teaching programme.
There is already a range of assessment options. Work is underway to map these against the standards, and each will be evaluated to show how they can be used effectively to contribute to student assessments. Information on this will be available to schools by the end of 2009.
The Ministry is preparing materials to support teachers and build consistency.
The Education Review Office will review assessment and moderation processes in the context of its school reviews.
Support for schools
Professional development in literacy, numeracy and assessment will be aligned to support the standards. Boards of trustees will be supported in their governance role in implementing National Standards through workshops and a web-based resource.
A range of exemplars and resources in literacy, numeracy and assessment will be available in schools to support implementation.