Media Release
January 28, 2010
PPTA releases position on national standards
PPTA is releasing a paper today in a bid to inform debate on national standards and steer the country away from
‘assessment mania.’
The paper looks at the dangers of National’s standards in a country that “already over-assesses,” PPTA president Kate
Gainsford said.
“Excessive monitoring does not improve teaching and learning,” she said.
“A child is more than a test score.”
“Plain English and informative reporting is a good thing for teachers, parents and students. You don’t need expensive
national standards to do this. The money would be better spent on more one-on-one time and smaller classes to help pick
up the students that are falling behind.”
PPTA has released the paper to make sure that public discussion is well-informed.
“We welcome robust and well-informed debate,” Gainsford said.
The paper can be found on the PPTA website at:
Or by going to the Issues in Education section on our home page and looking in “What’s New”
ENDS