The following examples highlight how five schools have been preparing to work with the National Standards. The examples reflect the features common to schools that were ERO found to be well prepared to work with the National Standards. The common features include:
School A is a large, urban contributing primary school that provides a high standard of education for students. Trustees, staff, students, and parents work in partnership to manage the school in an environment in which students are valued and able to flourish.
Professional leadership in this school is strong. Leadership is demonstrated at all levels of the school. Senior and team leaders work together to provide comprehensive support for teachers and ensure the positive outcomes of professional learning programmes are embedded in teaching practice.
Self review is used for critical reflection by school leaders and teachers. Input is sought from staff, students and the community as part of the reviews carried out in the school.
The board uses student achievement data as part of its self review. This is so trustees can get a good understanding of achievement levels in the school and a better understanding of progress being made in relation to school initiatives. The board has changed meeting schedules so that there are four meetings a year that focus on student achievement and four that focus on other operational matters. Review findings from one year contribute to the next annual plan.
School leaders use achievement data to inform achievement targets in the annual plan. They have differentiated targets that are directed towards groups of students in all the achievement bands, including for those in the highest achievement bands.
The school’s curriculum is well documented and gives clear guidelines to teachers. Good use is made of the strengths of staff and the organisation of the school day to deliver a broad curriculum. The school’s curriculum gives significance to the school values, and the key competencies and principles of The New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes teaching as inquiry. Senior students are members of the curriculum focus teams. They actively participate in curriculum review, decision making and reporting. Students are aware of the contribution they make to helping ensure the curriculum is responsive to their needs.
Team leaders use achievement data as part of professional learning discussions with teachers about teaching strategies to promote student progress. Ongoing assessment is timetabled throughout the year. The school has clear guidelines for teachers in a well documented assessment schedule. Leaders closely monitor student progress throughout the year. Team meetings at the year levels are centred on using data to promote discussions about teaching strategies to promote progress for individual students. Teachers share professional practice and have a sense of a shared responsibility for raising student achievement.
Teachers closely monitor the progress of students in their class. Assessment data is shared with students and most are able to talk about their writing level, reading age, and number strategy level. In writing and numeracy rubrics are being shared with students so they know what they have to do to achieve the next level and where they are aiming to go.
A management unit has been allocated to one teacher who is responsible for setting up school systems to implement National Standards. This person has been able to gather all the information about the standards together, make sense of it and develop an assessment implementation plan for the school.
The principal has kept the board well informed about the standards through regular reports. Senior leaders have attended workshops about the standards, and curriculum leaders are to attend a second workshop provided for a cluster of schools.
This school was a trial school for the Ministry of Education’s self-review tools. Team leaders gave feedback on the questions used in the self-review tool, and then used the tool with the whole staff. The self-review tool has also been used to evaluate school’s own capacity to implement standards.
The school’s progress in working with the National Standards includes:
The next steps identified by the school include:
School B is a medium-sized, contributing primary school catering for students in Year 1 to 6. This school has a rich history and a tradition of high levels of community involvement.
The principal provides responsive and consultative leadership and is well supported by senior managers. The distribution of leadership roles recognises and values staff strengths and contributions and makes good use of expertise to promote professional learning and development.
Processes for strategic planning and self review are well established. Detailed reporting on curriculum programmes, student achievement, and good use of annual review, enables the board to identify strategic priorities. Trustees have a good knowledge of school operations and are well placed to make sound governance decisions.
The school’s curriculum is clearly based on the community’s values, fosters key competencies for learning, and reflects a focus on literacy and numeracy learning. The curriculum provides an effective base for promoting students’ learning. The board, managers and teachers take collective responsibility for student achievement and make good provision for learning support where this is required. Students, teachers and parents have a strong sense of belonging to the school.
Consultative practices are evident and the school is responsive to the outcomes of these. Whānau have been closely involved in curriculum development and the school is responsive to their aspirations for their children.
The school’s curriculum promotes the key competencies for learning and these are a key feature in teachers’ unit plans. The principles, values and key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum are well considered and clearly articulated in the school’s curriculum. The curriculum offers good guidelines for teachers.
School leaders analyse numeracy and literacy data and pinpoint patterns and trends. They ascertain the next steps for school planning. They also use the data to monitor and track the progress of groups of students. Data is used in an ongoing way to modify school achievement targets over time; monitor the effectiveness of intervention programmes; make decisions on resourcing in response to the analysis; and compare school performance with national norms. Māori and Pacific students are identified in the analysis of achievement information at the leadership level.
The school’s assessment schedule enables teachers to use assessment data to identify early those students who are at risk of not achieving. Teachers use assessment information to group students for instruction and to inform the content of programmes. Assessment information is also used as part of the school’s self-review systems to look at effectiveness of their teaching and the quality of programmes. Teachers monitor individual student’s progress and identify students for target groups aligned with school targets. An action plan sets out strategies to support the achievement of targets. Progress against these is tracked regularly through the year.
Teachers are well versed in making “best fit” judgements for reporting to parents against curriculum levels in literacy and mathematics. They collect assessment data and information from teacher observations and present findings on a grid that clearly shows several types of assessment have contributed to the final judgment.
The school’s assessment schedule specifies the use of reliable assessment tools. Professional development is available for teachers in the use of these tools. Moderation is carried out within syndicates and recently some sharing is happening at school cluster level.
The school has also developed matrices for students to see their progress through learning progressions, and to help them plan their next steps in writing and numeracy.
School leaders and teachers have a good understanding of the National Standards and they are well placed to make sound judgements about students’ performance against the standards. The school already has high quality assessment practices for numeracy and literacy. School benchmarks are aligned to levels of The New Zealand Curriculum and so align well to the National Standards. Teachers are used to making overall teacher judgments based on a range of assessment information.
The senior leadership team has accessed an online webinar, the Ministry of Education’s website[1] and Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) website.[2] The team has attended a workshop on the standards and found some of the messages they received confusing. Leaders and teachers have read and discussed the National Standard documents issued to schools. They found this information clear and easy to understand. Although trustees are yet to access support, the standards have been discussed at board meetings, led by the principal.
The next steps identified by the school include:
School C is small, contributing primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 6. It has a roll of 41 students, 13 of whom are Māori. A strong community and family atmosphere is highly evident in all aspects of school operations. A safe, respectful and supportive climate has been developed where students and their families feel welcome and have a strong sense of belonging.
The principal provides effective leadership for curriculum development and school management, with a particular focus on promoting professional learning to improve student learning outcomes. Ongoing, whole-school professional development has been provided for teachers in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technologies (ICT). An inclusive and consultative leadership style encourages team decision-making and supports staff in developing their leadership capabilities. Collegial teamwork contributes to the school’s high quality teaching programmes. Trustees are well informed through the principal’s reports and this helps them to make resourcing decisions and develop targets based on achievement information.
Self review is ongoing and informs decisions about learning initiatives. There are direct links between the interpretation of school-wide achievement information and the setting of targets to raise student achievement levels. The school’s annual and strategic plan is based on student achievement information and is also linked to professional development priorities for teachers.
The school has revised its curriculum implementation practices and aligned the achievement expectations for reading, writing and mathematics to the National Standards. The school has designed its school curriculum within the framework of The New Zealand Curriculum, and this is evident in school and classroom practice.
The principal closely monitors all student achievement information and teacher assessment practice across the school. Regular whole staff meetings enable professional dialogue about classroom assessment practice and a sharing of ideas for consistency of understanding of achievement standards. Trends and patterns in student learning are identified and, when required special programmes are put in place to support these students.
High quality assessment data is used by classroom teachers to plan the next steps for learning for individual students. Teachers skilfully use assessment information to inform planning and provide individualised programmes for children. Formal assessment folders, together with comprehensive written reports provide parents and students with a wealth of information about progress and achievement.
Students in Years 4 to 6 are aware of the purpose of lessons, the learning intentions and associated success criteria. They have developed goals that are specific and include what they need to do, how they are going to do it, and how they will know they have achieved their goals.
Teachers are well on the way to showing how children are achieving in relation to National Standards. Comprehensive reports only need refinements in wording to show parents how well their child is achieving in relation to the standards. Assessment folders also keep parents well informed of their child’s progress and achievement in all curriculum areas.
The principal has been to several workshops about the standards and found some aspects of these useful. The school is already using specific assessment tools that are aligned to the National Standards. The principal has also accessed Ministry websites and feels confident to work with the standards.
Teachers have been involved in staff meeting discussions. They feel they are already experienced with using assessment tools and in analysing and interpreting data to make overall judgements about student progress and achievement.
The next steps identified by the school include:
School D is a small rural school full primary school catering for students in
Years 1 to 8. A clear and coherent vision for learning and achievement at the school is a result of extensive consultation among staff, the board, parents and the community.
The principal sets clear expectations for teaching and learning that are well understood and help drive curriculum planning, assessment and reporting. Staff work as an effective team under the thoughtful and innovative leadership of the principal. The school has good systems for sustainability and improvement.
The board makes student achievement discussions the main part of their meetings. All students’ achievement information is collated and those with extension needs and those at risk of not achieving are identified. There is a group of students in the middle achievement band that the board would like to have greater information about to ensure that they receive the support that they need to make progress.
Reading and basic facts reporting to the board is honest and accurate and used by the board in their decision making about funding staff, resources and professional development opportunities for teachers. Information is clearly set out with graphs and written explanations to ensure that data is easily understood.
School leaders, staff, board and the community have all had input into the developments of the school’s curriculum. All involved in the school are working towards providing the best learning opportunities for students.
School leaders have worked extensively on the front end of the curriculum and have consulted widely with staff, students and community to ensure that all opinions have been considered. There is a common understanding of the school’s vision and values. The principal acknowledges that they have been over-ambitious about how much they have been able to achieve in developing and reviewing their curriculum statements and programmes of work. They are happy with what they have completed in mathematics and are currently reviewing the English learning area.
Curriculum areas beyond literacy and numeracy are taught in an integrated approach and as teachers plan together there are provisions for levels 1 to 4 within the units. Students’ feedback is sought at the end of each unit and this is collated by the principal and reported to the board.
The principal collates all student achievement information from each teacher and produces a report for the board of trustees. This is sent out the week before board meetings to allow trustees to read and reflect. The board then discuss the results and makes decisions about how it can support teachers in addressing any identified needs. An example of this was the results of basic facts tests. The board was concerned about the results. It arranged for the deputy principal to be released from class to teach targeted groups of students, and provided funds for the purchase of additional resources.
The school has a wide range of student progress and achievement information that has been collected over time. Teachers work closely together and understand the school’s values, vision and procedures. Good guidelines promote consistently high quality programmes and assessment practices.
All students are involved in three way-conferences where personal learning goals are set. In writing students have individual goal cards. These cards are level based and are used for students to assess themselves and for teachers to evaluate students’ achievement. The principal has plans to develop these goal cards into other areas of literacy and mathematics.
Teachers moderate writing samples and have guidelines about assessment requirements. The use of standardised testing gives some level of consistency. Team work is strong and communication is a key factor in staff working together.
School leaders do not have any major concerns about National Standards. Teachers make judgements about student achievement using professional judgments backed by information from a range of standardised tests. The standards are seen as business as usual in this school.
Teachers have recently consulted parents on redesigning their reports. The information reported is clear and uses easily understood language.
The school has good systems to ensure sustainability improvement and progress for all students. School leaders, staff, board and the community have all had input into the developments of the school curriculum. All involved in the school are working towards providing the best learning opportunities for students. The board is focused on learning and ensures that student achievement discussions are the main part of its meetings.
As a rural school, it has some difficulty in sourcing good quality ongoing professional development and specialist support. The next step for this school is for school leaders to attend a workshop about the National Standards (they were enrolled to attend this just after their ERO review).
School E is a new contributing primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 6. The school provides a welcoming and inclusive learning environment for all children and their families.
The principal and deputy principal provide skilled and effective school leadership. They have high expectations of themselves, the staff and the students and are knowledgeable about good practice in curriculum and assessment. Highly collegial and collaborative staff, parent and student relationships underpin ongoing development in the school. Strategic leadership opportunities help staff to grow through targeted professional development. Internal and external expertise is utilised and development is guided by the school’s strategic plan, curriculum priorities and robust performance management system.
Self review is a strength of the school. Self review occurs at many levels of the school and is inclusive of the leadership team, staff, parents and the board. It is clearly based on student achievement information. Resource decisions, including intervention programmes, reflect the needs of students. The school is focused on improvement.
Comprehensive information about student achievement at each year level is reported to the board and based on some standardised tools and teachers’ professional judgements. This information is used for resourcing purposes to support students and improve achievement. The school has also compared its data with the National Standards as at the end of 2009, and included this in the board’s analysis of variance.
The school began working on its curriculum from the time it was established. A strong focus has been on developing solid foundations in numeracy and literacy through internal and external professional development. A 2010 strategic goal is to develop their own school ‘learning model’ closely linked to the school’s values programme and inquiry.
The deputy principal is the school’s curriculum manager and has an overall responsibility for planning, assessment and evaluation. Systems have been developed, in consultation with the principal and middle managers, which promote student progress and achievement and allow teachers to become increasingly reflective. These systems include: individual student learning plans; learning analysis evaluations; and planning and assessment sheets.
School leaders and the board use achievement information well to inform their strategic plan. Progress and recommendations based on achievement information are noted in the strategic plan to inform the analysis of variance. The leadership team has established systems and structures that help teachers to identify students’ strengths and needs. As a leadership team, these practices are monitored by them as part of the schools performance management and quality assurance system.
The information collected is of high quality. Well documented reporting is analysed at each year level, for girls and boys, and for Māori and Pacific students. The data is based on a range of standardised tools being used (especially in literacy) and teachers overall professional judgements.
Teachers use assessment information to differentiate their teaching programmes. They also identify target students for extra support. Some of these students also benefit from involvement in additional targeted support programmes. The impact of these programmes is reported to the board.
Twice yearly, teachers complete a comprehensive learning analysis evaluation. This evaluation is completed in all learning areas and includes self-review questions regarding the future direction of the school. Teachers respond to two key questions: “what are students good at?” and “what are their next steps for learning?” The document is also used by the principal to inform strategic planning.
The school is well prepared to work with National Standards based on the good understanding members of the senior leadership team have of them and their enthusiasm to implement them. Leaders have developed a school culture of moderating assessment through the learning conversations and have school moderation processes in place. They see the standards sitting alongside their current practice and that the standards will only enhance their focus on self review and student achievement. The leadership team is responsive to emerging needs and trends and have a highly collaborative and inclusive approach to building school capacity.
The leadership team worked alongside staff at the end of 2009 to help them develop the confidence to make overall judgements about student progress and achievement against the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. These judgements were based on a range of information collected. The information about student progress and achievement against the standards compared well with what they already knew.
Senior leadership team members have attended workshops and used the Ministry of Education’s resources, including the self-review tools. They found the tools useful, easy to understand with good examples to assist with preparation. Leaders have also kept the board informed and are about to provide further training for teachers. The use of the Ministry’s self-review tools, the school’s electronic system and data input by teachers has strengthened their preparation to work with the standards. The board of trustees has also reviewed the school’s ‘Curriculum Delivery and Assessment policy’ in regard to National Standards.
The next steps identified by this school include:
[1] See: www.minedu.govt.nz
[2] See: http://www.tki.org.nz/e/tki/