ERO Report Confirms High Quality Support Needed

ERO Report Confirms High Quality Support, Not National Standards, needed to Address Maori Under-Achievement

NZEI Te Riu Roa says the Government should prioritise support for implementing recommendations from an Education Review Office report issued today if it was serious about improving Maori student achievement, rather than diverting funds, professional development and school planning and resourcing into National Standards.

The Government has repeatedly claimed that National Standards will lift Maori student achievement.

However, NZEI, the union and professional institute for primary teachers and other education staff, said ERO's recommendations to schools about ways in which they could improve Maori students' achievement and engagement in learning were sensible and proven to make a difference. In contrast, there was no evidence that National Standards would lift Maori achievement.

ERO's "Promoting Success for Maori Students" report, calls for schools to build their capability in implementing policies and practices that promote success for Maori students. The report was highly critical of schools that did not specifically identify information about, or target strategies toward, their Maori students.

NZEI matua takawaenga Laures Park said the National Standards policy, with its "one size fits all" approach, was incompatible with ERO's recommendations. "National Standards do not reflect a Maori world view, and are going to label our tamariki and their whanau as "failures". That's more likely to demoralise them as learners and undermine whanau engagement in schooling."

She said what was needed was funding and priority for professional development and programme resourcing that was focused on meeting the needs of Maori students.

She said research had shown lower levels of Maori achievement, linked with low socio-economic status, for at least two decades, but "fixing" the issue was more complex than just identifying it. While most schools were adopting steps that had maintained or improved Maori student achievement, schools needed high quality professional development at a national level if Ministry plans for improving achievement were to be successful.

ENDS

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