National Standards
At the moment there is a big discussion going on in the newspapers, on the radio, and on television about National Standards.
The National Standards have been set in Reading, Written Language, and Mathematics for each one of the years (Year 1 through to Year 8) your child spends at primary and intermediate school. The criteria for the Standards were given out to all primary and intermediate schools last year and the National Standards are to be implemented this year.
So, what are the National Standards?
· The National Standards are a benchmark. They are reference points which let the school and you know how your child is progressing against what is considered to be the level of achievement reached by an ‘average’ child of the same age in Reading, Written Language, and Mathematics. There is no one national test or national testing.
· The Standards are NOT failed, the Standards are NOT passed. They give an indication of where your child is achieving at the moment.
· If your child has not yet reached a Standard, the teacher has the necessary information about:
§ How he/she can assist your child
and also
§ How you can help your child.
· If your child is working at the National Standards it means that your child is on track to achieve NCEA Level 2 at secondary school.
Reporting to you on your child’s progress against the National Standards
As with every primary and intermediate school in New Zealand, our school will be reporting to you, the parents and caregivers of students, twice a year on the progress your child is making in relation to the National Standards. This information will be part of the main reports issued Mid-Year and End-of-Year.
We will be letting you know if your child has reached the National Standards, exceeded the National Standards, is below the National Standards, or very much below the National Standards. We will be telling you how we will help your child and providing you with suggestions as to how you can also help.
What we have been doing
At Bruce McLaren Intermediate, we have been assessing the progress made by our students against the expected Year 7 and Year 8 Achievement Levels in Reading, Written Language, and Number for the past few years.
These Achievement Levels were set out in the old curriculum documents and they are now, with some changes, incorporated into the National Standards. This means, that in effect we have been using the National Standards for some time and reporting to you in our main reports on the progress being made by your child in relation to the expected Achievement Level.
This year, all New Zealand primary and intermediate schools including our school, have started working with the new Curriculum. We will be making it very clear to you as to the progress your child is making against the National Standards.
Please remember however, it is not a case of pass or fail but of heading towards a goal. Just as with motor cars, some cars are faster than others, so it is the case with children. It is not the speed that counts but reaching the destination.
