Posted by: PPTAweb
on 23, Nov, 2011
Tagged in:
Tomorrow's Schools ,
teaching ,
teachers ,
students ,
student achievement ,
secondary schools ,
public education ,
professional learning and development ,
National Party Education Policy ,
Mrs Tolley ,
league tables ,
elections ,
education politics ,
Christchurch schools ,
Anne Tolley
Dear Anne
I have just read your party education policy. This letter is written in disappointment that National Party education policy can so blithely ignore the best evidence in education research and policy, and dismay that you appear not to have heard the education hopes, dreams and aspirations that teachers have for their students.
National takes credit for all improvements in the education sector over the past three years; some achievements - such as retention rates in school, are unlikely to have been influenced by National education policy, others are simply manipulations such as 'employed 1600 more teachers"; shuffling funding from one education area to another doesn't double it; league tables encourage some particularly unpleasant uncooperative competitive behaviours so how on earth can your policy blithely state "ensure schools make the most of their facilities and resources and they collaborate rather than compete with each other" or does this only apply to Canterbury?
We'd like you to know that all actual improvements in the secondary education sector can be attributed to school communities, the hard work of parents, boards, students, teachers and, most importantly, quality teaching.
Posted by: Winged Avenger
on 17, Feb, 2010
A 2009 MOE report released under the OIA tells the minister that National Standards will “improve [MOE] ability to compare performance across primary and intermediate schools.” The ministry already uses “National Qualification statistics to monitor secondary schools performance.”
The report goes on to detail possible interventions for schools with low achievement. These range from voluntary school improvement initiatives, to statutory managers or even school closure. The ministry plans to expand its use of statutory interventions, rather than saving them as a last resort.
The report asks the minister to “direct the ministry to develop a coherent intervention framework for schools, for an environment where student achievement information will be used to decide which schools warrant intervention.”
Posted by: blogger
on 04, Feb, 2010
By Winged Avenger
2010 should be all about the NZ curriculum. Instead, the government is determined to railroad teachers into focusing on national standards.
Secondary teachers already know the downsides of too much summative assessment and league tables, both of which are key features of the national standards.
Teachers want to use the NZC as a platform for developing great teaching for diverse learners; parents want plain-English reporting of their kids’ progress. Neither group needs the national standards to achieve these goals.
