At the time data was gathered for of this evaluation report (Terms 1 and 2, 2010), schools were at varying stages in working with the National Standards. The Ministry of Education was offering a range of support to schools to help them understand and use their self review to identify what they needed to do to review, refine and align existing practices with the standards.
Schools that were well advanced with their curriculum review process and where teachers and professional leaders were confident in gathering, analysing and using student achievement information, were more likely to understand the standards and align them with existing practices.
This evaluation highlights many challenges and next steps for schools as they continue to become familiar with and use the standards. Continued support is essential for this to be successful for all schools.
The findings of this report show that most schools had used some form of external support to help them understand the purpose and nature of the standards. Schools now need ongoing assistance and guidance to take this understanding and use it constructively in their own context to work with the standards.
Schools that need additional support:
ERO is continuing to evaluate how schools are using the National Standards within their curriculum and through self review to raise student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. In Terms 3 and 4, 2010 ERO will continue to focus on how schools are using the standards. ERO will also be discussing with schools how they report to parents against the standards and how they are preparing to set targets in their 2011 charters based on information they have about students’ progress and achievement in relation to the standards.