Letter: Better option than testing

OPINION: I am a parent of two primary-aged children and am also a trained secondary school teacher. I am thoroughly happy with the local school my children attend. At any time I can find out how my children are progressing in terms of numeracy and literacy for their age groups, as can parents at any school, and I believe that national standards will add nothing to this.

I have two suggestions for the money that is to be used to test students. Firstly, invest it in reducing class sizes. This would mean more teachers and fewer bureacrats; which is why it might not prove as popular with politicians. Secondly, to reduce the 30 per cent of new- entrants teachers who, according to ERO, are not up to scratch, how about focusing on selecting the right teachers for training and put more resources into teacher training?

It will be a sad day if testing children takes away from their most vital and enjoyable years at school.

LINDA REEVES

Petone

- © Fairfax NZ News

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