National’s testing policy

John Key announced yesterday that National would bring in three things for primary and intermediate schools:

1) Clear National Standards
2) Effective Assessment
3) Upfront Reporting

There is no bigger tragedy if a kid can not read, write and count, and you only discover this at secondary school – it is far too late by then.

We don’t actually even know how many kids leave primary school without being able to read, write or do maths. Yes, there is no national standard and reporting to measure against.

There is a handy Q&A on the policy. It stresses this is not national testing against one test. Schools will be able to choose which assessment method is best for their school, but they will be benchmarked against a national standard.

John Armstrong comments that for John Key to succeed with support for this policy, he needs to make the case that that “testing of primary school children is not only in parents’ interests, it is also in the national interest”.

The Principals’ Federation has attacked the plan, because it worries it would pit school against school. Oh yes we can’t let parents know how well a school is doing can we. The ERO has found that 49 per cent of schools did not use the results of assessment to raise performance or inform parents.

The NZ Herald editorial quite strongly supports the plan, and usefully reminds us that Labour a decade ago proposed similar testing, but dropped it in the face of union opposition.