Schools will have to test and tell

Schools will have to publicly reveal pupils' annual test scores under Government plans to raise literacy and numeracy standards.

National made good on its promise to introduce compulsory national standards for primary and secondary schools yesterday, tabling a bill in Parliament that will require schools to test all pupils once a year on their reading, writing and maths skills and publish the results.

Schools will be required to report to parents "in plain language" on how their children are doing compared with the national standard and compared with other children their own age.

Many schools test students, but they are not required to do so, and they do not have to tell parents the results of the tests.

Under the law change, schools will have to provide parents with all assessment information collected about their child and must also pass on the aggregate data, which will be used to compare the quality of teaching across similar schools.

That will allow the Ministry of Education to compare schools of similar decile rankings for the first time and could mean the Government targets and sanctions poorly performing schools.

The bill says the imposition of national standards will "create clarity about Government expectations, how schools can meet those expectations, and a process for putting in greater support where required".

The standards will be finalised in August and implemented from the beginning of the 2010 school year.

There are fears the publication could lead to "league tables" being compiled on schools and that lower-decile schools will be disadvantaged by the system.

Labour education spokesman Chris Carter said national standards could lead to standardised testing, which he said was a "failed and discredited model" overseas.

Education Minister Anne Tolley denied the results could be used to compile "league tables", saying the full data obtained would be available only to the Government.

She said schools would be asked to compile reports for the community on their progress towards meeting the standards.

The bill also contains provision for a huge increase in fines for the parents of truants, from $150 to $300 for the first offence and from $400 to $3000 for second and subsequent offences. The penalty for failing to enrol children in school will jump from $1000 to $3000 a year.

The bill will also give the Secretary for Education the power to prosecute parents directly for truancy offences, rather than being directed by boards of trustees. It says while the Ministry of Education has taken steps to address truancy, absenteeism has continued to rise over the last six years.

Tolley made no apologies for increasing the fines for truancy. "The maximum fine for (not) registering your dog is $3000. I think it is more important you send your children to school than register your dog."

Christchurch truancy officer Andy Parr, who has been in the job for eight years, said tougher fines would have no effect on the families he dealt with.

"We feel that the social stigma or the embarrassment is the main deterrent," he said. "The main ones we deal with are parents who have lost control and the student is usually calling the shots."

 

THE CHANGES

All primary and secondary schools to test pupils on maths, reading and writing every year from 2010. Individual results to be given to parents and the aggregate data to the Ministry of Education.

 Schools to be required to publish general reports on their compliance with the new standards.

 Truancy fines to increase from $150 to $300 for the first offence and from $400 to $3000 for subsequent offences.

 Failure to enrol a pupil will incur a $3000 fine, up from $1000.

 

- © Fairfax NZ News