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Source: ONE News -
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A union representing teachers and principals is calling for new national education standards to be trialed before the Government fully adopts them.
Educators and parents have expressed concern about the standards which require teachers to give parents clear reports on how their children are performing against national benchmarks.
New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) hosted a meeting on Thursday for educators to discuss the standards for reading, writing and maths, which come into force in February next year.
Members agreed they were not confident the standards would raise student achievement as the Government intended, the union said.
It planned to take a list of its concerns to the Education Minister Anne Tolley and also suggest the standards be trialed.
These concerns included:
-The standards were a "one size fits all" approach.
-The timeframe for implementation was potentially unworkable.
-Teachers did not fully understand the standards and would need professional development and resourcing.
"The minister has been sent a strong and clear message from this Forum that the sector is not comfortable with National Standards, but is prepared to work in partnership to find a way forward," NZEI president Frances Nelson says.
There was a strong feeling the standards were being rushed and the education sector, who were the ones who had to make them work, had not been given an opportunity to give feedback, she says.
"At the end of the day we want the opportunity to make a call as to whether or not the standards are working and being used in the way they were intended."
NZEI represents 35,000 primary and intermediate school principals and teachers.
