• about the success of the programmes currently being delivered in the school
• to support their decisions particularly around planning and allocating resources.

In addition, to help raise student achievement boards need to:

• set high expectations for all students
• use resources to make sure they are used effectively to help teaching and learning
• check that the budget is based on strategic priorities
• find out the worth of the programmes the school currently delivers
• understand the importance of professional development
• know the strengths and weaknesses in current student achievement performance
• discuss, understand and approve the Annual Plan targets
• discuss, and understand the analysed information in the regular reports from the principal
• be assured that teachers are taking the next steps to promote success

This isn’t different from the role of school boards for the last 21 years.  What is different are the stories the data will tell each board…and the board’s response to it.

Yes these students are often being failed in our system.  However, this is not the time to put our heads in the sand and not face the brutal truth. It is the time to collectively decide to turn things around.  It is the time to accept responsibility for improving literacy and numeracy skills.

For this to happen, boards and parents need strong inspiring school leadership.  They need staff who are focussed on improving student achievement, and who genuinely believe they can make the difference and who do not see race, community wealth, decile and similar factors as determining intelligence.

Let’s all [including the Porirua City Council] concentrate on the desired outcome and treat national standards as what they really are – a measure to help us plan the best learning route for all our students.

However, students without the necessary levels of reading, writing and maths skills can fall further and further behind in other learning areas such as social sciences, technology and the arts.

When teachers  review progress and achievement against National Standards, and use this information when designing teaching programmes in the curriculum learning areas, boards can be assured that teaching goals are for a “well rounded” child.

http://www.pmscienceprizes.org.nz/about/winners_2010/teacher.html

I particularly like the increase in the number of students achieving excellence.

Such a report can help parents and whanau  support and extend their child’s learning.  Although teachers and their practices have the greatest effect on student learning,  parents and whanau also have a critical role in ensuring high quality outcomes.

There have been many positive comments on the success of the reports this year.  For most, it is more information than they have had before.  It is information that can be used by all those involved including teachers, students and parents, to develop meaningful partnerships for learning improvements.

National Standards will not change this if the results we get do not galvanise us into action. By themselves National Standards are just a measure, a thermometer.  Just as it takes action [a cold compress, a panadol] to lower a high temperature, the tail of under achievement can only be addressed if and when we act on the information.

So make  meaningful decisions from the “stories” the data provides for your board including those that will address under achievement. And be assured that the principal is acting on the information too.

Boards, principals, teachers and parents will be able to make informed decisions and provide appropriate support by:

• Having high expectations around progress and achievement
• Setting clear goals against the standards with students
• Early identification of students who are not making the expected progress
• Strengthening assessment for learning
• Having a strong focus on literacy and numeracy
• Using good information to make resource and programme decisions

As a result, teachers will have a clearer picture about students’ needs and the next steps to be taken to enable their learning.

Feedback to students, conversations with colleagues and discussions with parents can focus on how to improve student progress and achievement.

Identifying concerns early and acting for a child who is falling behind could be the key to their future academic success.

These include:

• formal assessment tools such as e-AsTLe, PAT, STAR, NumPa
• “informal” assessments including observations, portfolios, and classroom work
• teacher professional judgment

Using the information gained from a variety of sources,  a teacher can identify where the progress has been made and the current level of achievement when checked against the criteria of the standard.  This Overall Teacher Judgment even has its own acronym OTJ.

Boards need to be assured that the judgments are:

• based on several sources of evidence and not one single assessment
• consistent within the school and also across schools

There are no National Standards tests. There is no requirement for a nationally used test. Rather, current assessment activities measure where the student is at and National Standards provide a stake in the sand to evaluate the literacy and numeracy skills.

Literacy and numeracy skills are vital in all learning areas and will be taught across the curriculum. If students are at or above the national standard for reading, writing and maths for their year level,  it is easier for them to progress and  achieve in the wide range of  creative arts, arts and sciences being offered.

National standards are not about narrowing the curriculum.  They are benchmarks to evaluate the results of the teaching and learning in the classrooms.  Each and every student can then identify their learning goals whether in social studies, physical education or technology, and more importantly choose the next learning steps to take.

The rich, exciting, interesting, motivating and effective learning activities taking place around the country in good classrooms will not change.