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National Standards Survey Results  

This Survey was open from Thursday 8th September to Friday 16^th September.

The survey was emailed to 327 parent addresses and paper copies were available in the office for parents to complete.

Upon closing there were 107 Reponses

Question 1

Question 2

Options

1. I do not support the Waikanae School Board of Trustees in their action to change the National Standards Policy in regard to the centralisation of data.
2. I support the Waikanae School Board of Trustees in their action to change the National Standards Policy in regard to the centralisation of data.

Question 3

Options

1.  No action at all
2. Limited low level action. This being any action that does not place the Board or Principal at risk of being replaced or dismissed.
3. High level action that has the potential to see the Board replaced and the Principal dismissed 

 

As a staff member I commend our board for their stance - and their commitment to maintaining the excellent education offered to Waikanae School students.  I believe that the board has not only carefully weighed the effects on our own students but has also seen the bigger picture of the negative unintended effects of National Standards on the NZ education in general. As we have several staff and parents who are teachers, who have experienced first-hand the destructive effects of league tables in schools they have taught in, we are well placed to continue to resist the pernicious myth that our NZ teachers are failing our children.  WELL DONE TO OUR BOT.

don't know much about the national standards confuses me

I am impressed by the level of teaching, reporting and caring at Waikanae school and I have total faith and trust in its Principal & Board Of Trustees. The Board's stance as regards not nationally pooling data is well reasoned and accordingly responsible.

I fully support maximum activity against the imposition of these standards.  I am a UK teacher, who has seen what damage they continue to cause in UK primary schools. However, it seems that the boards have accepted the government's ultimatum.  Pity!

I object strongly to the narrowness of the National Standards and their ethos of comparison. I do not see any evidence that they are helping to solve any of the problems they were implemented for. I would like my children to remain engaged and love learning at school, in the most broad holistic sense that can be. A culture of testing and comparison will ultimately kill the natural enthusiasm for learning many primary school children have. I would like to be brave enough to have said "high level action" to the previous question but I would not like to see the current Board or Principal dismissed - mind you if many schools were to react more strongly it would cause a huge problem and certainly make a stand - that might be the only realistic way to get things changed (apart from a change in government which looks very unlikely to happen in the near future). Actually thinking it through more, I think high level action is the only way to go here and I have reset my previous selection but left in my comments here. I would like to see high level action across schools supported by a professional level PR exercise and backed up by educational research.

I see the middle ground as the best tactical approach to help contain the long term effects of the current government policy. Given the National Party majority, I don't think going head on will effect the change we are after but would (if Waikanae was chosen to be made an example of) risk the school being in a very difficult position. I suspect that most people still don't understand that the 'grade' that schools give to themselves are not balanced between schools and so any conclusions (A being 'better' than B) or decisions (I'll send my child to this better school) will be flawed. The next argument - if school league tables do more harm than good - moves deeper into politics and apart from giving both sides of the argument and showing other ways to achieve the goal they are being put in place for, it may not be wise for the school to take a position. The best approach may be to show the introduction of National Standards as a shambles and continuing to get the message across about why schools are resisting. Whilst at the same time looking after the kids, school and governance structure.

I wanted to go to the meeting last Wednesday night but was unable to as my husband had another meeting to go to.  Therefore I cannot make a response as to whether I support the actions or not.  I understand that you believe that each teacher's judgement as to the standard the child has reached can be inconsistent, but can this not be supported by standardised testing throughout the schools?  Or is there inconsistency in this area also?  Are you able to summarise why and how these inconsistencies arise as in talking to other mothers some do not understand why there are inconsistencies in assessing the level that a child is at and that surely it is not just based on a teachers judgement alone. I think the Board and Bevan do an amazing job for our school and commend you for the work you are doing to ensure that our children receive a quality education in a wonderful school environment.

I would have attended the info evening but had other commitments.  I feel very strongly against the national standards.  I last year completed a degree in ECE and we looked at this issue briefly.  I feel it is WRONG, it does not take into account children who have problems with taking tests, on paper it does not show that a child's English may not be the best but that they are fantastic with Te Reo or another language, culture is not considered, children's talents in other areas are not recognised, and I believe it has the potential to lower the child's self-esteem when such a narrow focus is taken.  I think it is limiting the teacher's ability to vary the curriculum and add interest, and takes time away from the job of teaching.  I fully support the school in their action so far and I am happy to say so.

Regardless of their bluster and Ministerial level bullying, the ministry can't replace hundreds of Board members and/or Principals. The Government would struggle to cope with the social fallout from that little exercise. They have to get the message that National Standards in their current form won't achieve anything positive for NZ.

The letter accompanying this survey was incredibly well-written and concisely pointed out what the problem is with the current form of national standards.

We believe that the board has the best interests of the students at heart and fully support and trust whatever actions it decides to take.

Why do league table have to be racially based?

All reporting that i receive from Waikanae school in regard to grading is difficult for me and my wider family to understand.  As a business person in the community I feel these standards are difficult to determine achievement levels. A, B, C or 1, 2, 3 are simple maybe old fashion...but simple. I feel it would also help if all grading methods were the same throughout.

Use within school context is wise. Broad based and child centred, freedom to teach according to needs of children than following blindly a"norm". See developing interests of kids more important than getting good grade based on an ambiguous standard. Fully support board of trustees.

The Board knows far more about the ramifications of the National Standards than I do. From the outside, I am unable to get a real feel for the pros and cons of the way  that standards have been implemented. Accordingly, I trust the Board to make the right decision, and will support whatever course they deem appropriate. However, I would be unhappy to see the Board or the Principal taking any action which would end in dismissal.

A well worded and to the point survey!!

I do not agree with National Standards, they were never around when I attended Education, so why bring them out now.  They have been around a while in the UK and schools started concentrating more on getting good marks against the Standards rather than what the children need to learn.  If the schools got good marks then they got extra funding.  It has also created too much competition between all schools in the UK.  The schools that did not concentrate on just getting good marks against the standard were then looked on badly and some of them have been closed since I came to live over here in NZ. The standards do not allow children to all be different, which they are.  Schools over here in NZ should have some standards, but they need to ensure that the Children come first not the standards.

I find the descriptions used for NS vague. They don't actually tell me how my child is performing. 'Achieving' or 'expected to achieve' is not enough. Without the NS would teachers be able to give more detailed reports? How much time do NS take up for the teachers? I would rather this time went into teaching and other activities.

National Standards emphasise academic abilities only and marginalise other areas of a child's expertise such as artistic / creative abilities, physical abilities and the ability to co-operate in a group environment. National Standards works for those students who are able to learn in a linear way and perform well in tests.  The question also needs to be asked - is it fair to label children as working well below the national standard - surely this label could potentially do more damage as well as setting up the child to expect further failure.

I fully support the Board's stance and share its concerns about the inconsistency of the judgements when they are aggregated by the Ministry. The resulting league tables will be misleading because they are not making true comparisons among schools. National standards would also set up a situation where the standards were the most important consideration and not the children. Our students would lose out on opportunities to develop extra talents in the artistic/creative/sporting/cultural fields. These are the activities which keep children engaged in school and help develop a love of learning.

The intent behind why the Government is trying to implement national standards I agree with, it's the approach in which they have done it I disagree with, the current process is to subjective. While I would support action, I think the final decision regarding what type of action required, needs to be a decision made by the Board/Principle and teachers as you all would be directly impacted by any Govt action taken should the school not comply.

I support the decisions that Waikanae School might make.  This year has so far been a fantastic year for my daughter thanks to her teacher being so incredibly devoted and committed to ensuring she is well challenged this year and has opportunity for extension!

I wouldn't like to see us lose our Principal/board over this. That would hurt the school more than the league tables.

I would not ask the principal or board to put themselves at risk of being replaced/dismissed.  However if they are willing to take a high level action stand I would wholeheartedly support them and respect their stance.  But that has to be their decision to make - I would not expect them to do it.

I would not like to see Waikanae School miss out on funding because of this stance. The cost of which will be ultimately be passed onto the parents or the children miss out. If the later occurs I would no longer support the Boards decision.

I have already e-mailed the principal and board congratulating them on the stance they have taken and noting my support. These ' National standards' as you point out, are no standards at all!  As a teacher myself I understand the dangers of narrowed curriculum and teaching to exams... I can see this move of the government leading in that direction. Narrow minded comparisons such as league tables have no positive effects either!  It is hard for me to suggest the board and principal put their positions at risk (at no cost to myself) however I feel so strongly to answer this last survey question as such... for the sake of all our kids futures!

Many parents forget that National Standards are aspirational and see them as a national average.

Good on you for making this stand, but also using a variety of assessment tools to help measure students' learning

It seems to me so much teacher time is spent on producing data.  Which for me, after the initial interest in comparing my child with thousands of others, there seems little point.

I don't know much on the national standards but i Feel that any information about my child should not be given out to others.

If the board cannot fulfil the role they are elected to do. They should resign and let a more capable board take over.

Whilst I would not like to see the board and the principal under threat I do feel if that if the parents and staff strongly disagree with the National Standards and can see a positive in our opportunity to change the policies then let our voices be heard.

I need to quantify my choice of option for the last question.  In no way do I want to see the Board or the Principal dismissed however I fully support their stance.  If they believe that this level of action is required and as a consequence of this it looks as if they will be dismissed I will do everything I can to either prevent this from happening or to support their reinstatement.

Do not consider the National Standards at all 'standardised' but biased by differences in schools and teacher judgements (despite attempts to moderate) Reporting so far on National Standards for individual students is a negative experience if the student is not likely to meet the standard in any area.

I am generally supportive of a national standard in reading writing and maths in the context that this should be a minimum standard that we are wanting all of our children to achieve. On that basis I see no reason to report on anything beyond compliance with those standards and, more importantly, the steps/ plans being taken by the schools to help students who may be failing to meet those standards. (currently monitored by the ERO?) The collation of data in respect of which schools surpass the national standard, seems somewhat spurious given that the degree by which they surpass these will be influenced as much by socio economic factors as by the quality of teaching. Of greater concern to me as a parent is the absence of any moderation of how the standards are assessed beyond that which occurs within each individual school.  Without a consistent framework for how the standards will be assessed there really is no 'standard' but rather 27,000 opinions as to whether or not a student has met the required level.

I support the position of the Board in terms of not complying with the requirement to send in the teacher's judgement on a child.    I think that the wording of the last question will be a bit misleading - because it seems unlikely that the Ministry of Education will fire the Board or Bevin without giving the school a "last chance" to comply. All the best and keep us informed.  Emails are great!

If the school and teachers are good, there should be nothing to fear from National Standards. As for as National Standards narrowing the curriculum and schools concentrating on reading, writing and maths, this is what schools should make their priority in my opinion, and I would be greatly concerned if the school felt otherwise. Subjects like sport and art etc., should be the parents responsibility and can be out of school activities, they should not take priority over academic subjects. I am quite disappointed that the school has not got the results of this parent survey before telling people in the press of its intention to withhold sending National Standard data to the Ministry of Education. This also makes me wonder if filling this survey out is a waste of my time as it seems to me the school has made up its mind of its intentions already.

We are against the competitive nature of national standards and there likely effect on schools particularly in lower decile areas.  we find them unhelpful to a child's confidence and identity as a capable learner by creating winners and losers.  We prefer children to be nurtured as individuals and feedback between teacher and child on that basis only.

I trust, and am comfortable being guided by the board and the Principal of Waikanae School on this issue and will support them.

I do not support the centralisation of National standards data as I have seen no evidence that that it will improve outcomes for primary education.  Imposing a system for political reasons (as admitted by MOE representatives) that appears not to have support from professionals in the education sector seems to be more than a little unwise.

Thanks for all your great work and you all the support we Parents get. You are doing a great job.

There needs to be national standards - there should be no fear of the centralisation of data.  The benefits outweigh the perceived disadvantages.  Any negative outcomes should be able to be countered by educated debate.

while i do support the board of trustees in their decision to withhold the aggregated data, I do not want any action to have an adverse affect on my children, particularly the principal being dismissed. I feel it is honourable of the board to make this stand in order to prevent the possible detrimental affect of league tables on other schools across NZ. However at this stage league tables and other detrimental outcomes are only assumed as possibilities to occur and are not definite. therefore while i agree to stand behind the board in its decision i urge them to be cautious in their protest. i do wish them well and hope that their protest will cause the Ministry to listen and to think through their decisions and potential outcomes.

I support the Board. However, with regard to league tables, I would quite like to see how our school compares to others.

Waikanae School and the NZ Curriculum offers a wide variety of opportunities for children to learn, that are not just narrowed down to reading, writing and maths.  This rich learning environment produces something for every child and is something that should not be lost in the struggle to attain National Standards.  The reporting procedures currently in place are robust and I do not feel that a move to 'league tables' will help any school or any child.

I think maybe it would be better to see what happens rather than make your own prediction on what will happen

Surely the NZ Curriculum is the standard for teaching and learning. Waikanae School uses baseline school wide testing and actual current learning needs in the classroom. A target that sits separately to this will not automatically improve student achievement by its mere existence. League tables don't sit with the philosophy of the NZ Curriculum or our education system. Primary School seems too early to introduce a pass and fail ideology.

I feel that I need more information to be able to answer these questions.  The answer I gave in the first question reflects this view - therefore I have been unable to make a selection for the last 2 questions.  There really should have been an equilavent option (ie an"I don't know") in the following questions about what position I think the Board should take. I am genuinely confused about what this survey is trying to accomplish???

The teacher's at Waikanae School do an amazing job of teaching our children, I love the holistic approach, also using the children's interests and strenghts. I am happy with the way in which the teacher's assess, record and reporting to me about my children's learning. I am happy to support the Principal and the BOT with the decisions they make.

I am confused about the National Standards I need do understand this more thanks.

We support the decisions that Waikanae School may take. I do not agree with National Standards, the standards do not allow children to be different. National Standards work for those students who are able to learn easy and do well in test.(this is not the case for all).