Mallard a stranger to the facts

Education Minister Anne Tolley says she is astonished that Labour’s education spokesperson still hasn’t bothered to familiarise himself with National Standards.

“It must be worrying for Trevor Mallard’s colleagues that he has no grasp of the basic facts around the Standards,” says Mrs Tolley.

“Everything he says should be treated with extreme caution. He issued a media release yesterday which tried to mislead the public and journalists, and which shows he is out of touch with reality and public opinion.
“Mr Mallard described the Standards as “tests”, when he should know this is not the case. What they involve are continuous assessments of pupils throughout the year so that their progress can be measured.

“He also seems to be unaware that teachers can describe to parents the progress and where a child sits against the Standards in any language they choose. But they must tell parents exactly how a student is doing in relation to the Standards, as this is the kind of plain-language information that families want and need.

“It’s very clear that Mr Mallard’s increasingly desperate ramblings are not having the desired effect, which is to undermine the good work being done by teachers and children.

“As he continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel he did get one thing right. He said schools and parents want the Standards to work, so perhaps Mr Mallard is realising he is out on a limb.

“The Government is supporting schools with the implementation and Mr Mallard should be doing the same, as we raise the bar for achievement in our schools and give every single young New Zealander the chance to succeed."

ENDS

© Scoop Media