English doubts findings of preschool study

By STUART DYE

A study into the benefits of good pre-school education raises serious concerns over the quality of New Zealand primary schools - if its conclusions are correct, says National's education spokesman, Bill English.

The study, revealed in the Weekend Herald

, shows that children who receive high-quality education before they start school are way ahead by the time they reach their early teens.

At 12 years old, the children are scoring an average of 12 per cent higher than their peers in literacy and numeracy tests.

Mr English said that if the study was to be believed then primary schools were having no equalising effect on children.

But the study failed to take into account the important role parents played, and was technically flawed.

"I would question the certainty of the conclusions. The raw data needs to be made available for other independent critical assessment," Mr English said.

The full report by the Council for Educational Research is due to be released next month by Education Minister Trevor Mallard.

Pre-schooling shoots pupils to top of class

Herald Feature: Education