National standards for primary and intermediate schools will form the cornerstone of National’s education policy, National Party Leader John Key announced today.

“The Education Review Office estimates around one in five children aren’t succeeding at school – that a staggering 150,000 children,” says Mr Key.

“And ERO reports make it clear that the area where the school system is least effective is in identifying students who are failing.

“ERO has also found that many schools are not giving parents meaningful information about their child’s progress.

“National is not prepared to accept that some kids can’t learn.  I want us to be aspirational.  I have high expectations for every child and I expect schools, teachers and students to share those expectations.

“National’s policy is to introduce three key requirements for all primary and intermediate schools:

• Clear National Standards: Set national standards in reading, writing and numeracy.  The standards will describe all the things children should be able to do by a particular age or year at school.  They will be defined by benchmarks in a range of tests.
• Effective Assessment: Require primary schools to use assessment programmes that compare the progress of their students with other students across the country.  Schools will choose from a range of tests, but there won’t be national exams. 
• Upfront Reporting: Give parents the right to see all assessment information, and to get regular reports about their child’s progress towards national standards.  Schools will also have to report each year on the whole school’s performance against national standards. 

“To bring the policy to fruition, National will need the co-operation of teachers, experts and parents,” says Mr Key.

“I’m open to advice on how to set the national standards benchmarks, which assessment systems schools should use, and which reporting frameworks are best.

“But I won’t negotiate on the need for these measures.  Too many primary schools don’t have an effective school-wide approach to assessment, and too many don’t give good assessment information to parents. 

“I want to issue a challenge to Helen Clark: tell me how many Kiwi kids left primary school last year without reaching the minimum expected standard in reading, writing or maths.

“She won’t be able to answer, because in 2007 our country hasn’t even decided what the minimum national standards are – let alone gone about finding the kids who don’t meet them.

“I also challenge Helen Clark to back National’s Education (National Standards of Literacy and Numeracy) Amendment Bill, which sits on Parliament’s order paper.

“Passing this bill would be a good first step to improving our education system, and I challenge Helen Clark to put Labour’s votes behind it.”

Click to download ational standards policy Q&A (PDF)

Click to download speech (PDF)