12. ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
Why did he state yesterday that he disagreed with the Post Primary Teachers Association’s views that the numeracy requirements at level 1 reflect “a very low level of achievement”, and that they are not “likely to match the community’s expectation of numeracy at year 11”?
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Education) Link to this
The member, as usual, is distorting my response to her question yesterday. I was responding to her claim that level 1 of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is a school-leaver qualification. That may be the position of the National Party, but the Labour-led Government has always regarded NCEA level 2 as the minimum achievement we want all students to achieve.
Will he tell the House why he thinks he is right and the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) and teachers are wrong, when they have clearly told the public that the level 1 numeracy credits are so easy that students still at intermediate school should be able to pass them?
I do not disagree that we can always improve exam processes. Indeed, I announced in this House in June—and had the member who asked me the question been listening, she would know this—that we are doing a review of standards with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Ministry of Education. Indeed, we have done things like appoint 33 permanent moderators, whose task is to ensure that assessment in schools is of the highest quality. We have done lots of other things, like introducing achievement endorsements to NCEA certificates, and we have made national assessment reports available online to parents. Actually, there are lots of processes to improve the assessment process.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What progress has the Labour-led Government made in raising student achievement?
It has made fantastic progress, and of course it would have done so, because Labour has doubled the amount of investment that has gone into education. In 2007 just 5 percent of students left school with few qualifications or no qualification. In 2002 it was 18 percent.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think that question and the Minister’s answer are pretty wide of the primary question I asked, which was about the PPTA’s view that numeracy requirements at level 1 reflect a low level of achievement.
Madam SPEAKERWhat I am trying to tell this House, and am successfully doing with most members, but not, of course, with the Opposition—
The question that has been asked of me is whether the NCEA is a robust system of assessment. The NCEA is an internationally recognised assessment system; it is recognised by all British, Australian, and American universities. Assessment processes in New Zealand are being examined by educational specialists from all over the world. The MP who asked the question, National’s spokesperson on education, seems to despise what happens in our schools. I am proud of what New Zealand teachers are doing to educate the next generation of New Zealanders.
Dail JonesIs the Minister prepared to take on the PPTA’s criticism and to liaise with the association to ensure that NCEA level 1 and, indeed, other levels of the NCEA are maintained at levels necessary to test the abilities of the relevant age groups; and, if necessary, is he prepared to increase those levels?
I am always prepared to talk to anybody about education. I regularly meet with the PPTA and with many other groups associated with education. I would be happy to sit down with the member and hear his views on education.
If there is nothing wrong with the mathematical skills of our young New Zealanders and the PPTA and teachers are wrong, why is it that under this Labour Government the National Education Monitoring Project shows that from 2001 to 2005 there has been a “clear decline” in the ability of our 9 to 10-year-olds and 12 to 13-year-olds to deal with simple number facts?
New Zealand students score extraordinarily highly in international comparisons. In the Programme for International Student Assessment scoring system or assessment process, which all 31 countries of the OECD submit results for, New Zealand students come out as being top in the English-speaking world in science, they come out as being equal with Canada’s students in literacy, and they come out as being top in the English-speaking world in numeracy. Those results speak for themselves. New Zealand teachers are doing an excellent job in our schools, and the National Party should be praising education, not condemning it.
What action is the Minister taking to liaise with the PPTA on NCEA levels with regard to, for example, computer teaching, bearing in mind the great problems that are associated with that area?
I meet monthly with the PPTA. In addition to that, I regularly attend regional meetings of the PPTA. In respect of the particular area the member has raised with us about computer skills, I have met not just with the PPTA but also with the Computer Society in order to try to work through a process whereby we have standards that are acceptable to everybody.
If there is nothing really wrong with the maths of young New Zealanders and he thinks that the PPTA and teachers are wrong, can he explain why the ability of our 9 to 10-year-olds and 12 to 13-year-olds to count, do basic arithmetic and algebra, measure, and do geometry is either stagnating at 2001 levels or has actually declined since 2001, according to the National Education Monitoring Project?
Actually, I do not disagree with teachers. I think teachers are getting it right, and in most cases they are getting it very right. Of course, we have some students who could achieve much better than they are doing. That is why the Government is introducing the revolutionary Schools Plus programme into our secondary schools. But I remind that member and this House that New Zealand students stack up extraordinarily well against students in other developed countries.
What assurances can the Minister give the House and the PPTA about NCEA levels 1, 2, and 3 in the field of technology teaching, where there has been considerable concern about the dearth of teachers?
I spend a great deal of my time visiting schools, and I am aware that schools are concerned about the number of teachers in the technology area. We are trying to recruit more teachers. We are making it easier for overseas-trained teachers who are suitable to teach in New Zealand schools to be registered. I am continuing to be in dialogue with the New Zealand Teachers Council, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the PPTA, and the New Zealand Educational Institute over these issues.
Can the Minister explain this to the House: we have teachers telling us that under Labour we are giving out numeracy credits to high school students for a test that is far too easy, and we have the National Education Monitoring Project backing that up and telling us that basic mathematical skills amongst our primary and intermediate schoolchildren are either stagnating or declining under this Labour Government, yet the Minister is still telling the House that everything is OK and the mathematical skills of New Zealand children are no cause for alarm?
I am not telling this House that things are OK; I am telling this House that things are very good. Of course, some students are not succeeding as well as they should succeed, which is why we are bringing in Schools Plus. But I can say that when a comparison is done with comparable countries in the OECD, New Zealand schools are shown to be world class. That member should be proud of what is happening in our schools, not rubbishing teachers and education.