10. Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
My question asks—
Hon Gerry Brownlee
Mr SPEAKERI am on my feet, and members will be silent all around the House. Clearly, normally I would deal with that very severely, but how can I deal with that very severely when the Minister did something very similar with an open microphone just a few seconds ago. It shows the problem we get into when members use an open microphone to put down other members of this House. It is a practice that, I think, should not be continued. I would rather see members be noisy and passionate about policies, and not make nasty comments about other members of this House. That goes for both sides.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
What evidence does she have that national standards in literacy and numeracy improve the quality of teaching and learning?
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) Link to this
The national standards provide reference points that describe the achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics that will enable students to meet the demands of the New Zealand curriculum. They will help teachers to make judgments about their students’ progress so that the students, their teachers, and their families can agree on the next learning goals. Research evidence such as the work of Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam in their book Inside the Black Box shows that when students are clear about their goals and what to do next, their achievement and learning improve.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Has she read the Cambridge group report on 11 years of testing in the United Kingdom that found, amongst other things, “if breadth is attained, so are standards; if breadth is sacrificed, so are standards”; if so, did she take that into account before cutting out the advice for science and the arts in primary schools?
What we are doing here in New Zealand is very different from what is done in the UK and the USA, where a national test is used and where the system is underpinned by high-stakes testing and assessment for accountability. We are doing neither of those things. We made a conscious decision to move away from this and to favour a policy where schools can make choices about the assessment activities, tools, and processes that they use. It is a very different one from the one that is used in the UK and the USA. Therefore, I say to the member that he needs to be very careful that he is actually comparing apples with apples.
Allan PeacheyI have seen a report from one member that states: “Let’s make it clear, I support the standards. I support better information for parents, I support looking at class and school results to identify teacher and school strengths and weaknesses so they can be built and worked on.” I am very glad that that member, the Hon Trevor Mallard, supports standards in literacy and numeracy. I look forward to him dropping his hysterical statements about national standards and supporting this Government’s drive to lift literacy and numeracy achievement for New Zealand students.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
What does “School Leadership and Student Outcomes, Identifying What Works and Why: Best Evidence”, which she is about to launch, say about the role of assessment in improving student outcomes and national standards in particular?
I do not have that document in front of me. As the member said himself, it is yet to be launched. But the use of formative assessment is well-known to be successful in informing better teaching and learning, and that is an important part of the use of national standards.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was a very specific question about a very specific document, which the Minister must have read, because she is about to launch it. This is an area of interest—
The member will resume his seat. The Minister made it very clear that she did not have the document and could not be more specific in relation to that. That is the difficulty when the member asks a fairly general primary question and then gets specific in asking a supplementary question. The member has further supplementary questions if he wishes to use them.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I seek leave to table the Cambridge study I referred to in my original question.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I seek leave to table the invitation, from the Minister, to the launch of the document I referred to in my second supplementary question.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I seek leave to table a Public Agenda article “Teaching for a Living: How Teachers See the Profession Today”. I downloaded it from a public international website.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I seek leave to table an article called “Social Class and Education Achievement: Beyond Ideology” by Ivan Snook from Massey University.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I seek leave to table an article by Kate Gainsford, which indicates that political pressures are the main reasons that worthwhile changes in education—
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
It is the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) newsletter. Kate Gainsford is the president.