PM downplays fears of school league tables

Prime Minister John Key is trying to shut down concerns about national standards - including those held by Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples - by saying decisions on how the data will be publicly reported are too far away to worry about today.

National standards were set at the end of last year for primary and intermediate schools in reading, writing and maths and will be in place when school resumes this week. The idea is that eventually the Ministry of Education will collect material on individual schools that may be published by news media in league tables, as happens now with secondary school results.

Dr Sharples, a former Professor of Education at Auckland University and now Associate Minister of Education, yesterday reversed his previous support for the national standards.

The Maori Party co-leader expressed concern that parents might make choices about which schools they send their children to on the basis of information made public about a school.

Mr Key's response suggested he might be willing to soften on what information is presented publicly.

"I wanted to put his mind at rest that he shouldn't be concerned about the issue of league tables because that is an issue we need to confront in 2012," Mr Key said at his post cabinet press conference after speaking with Dr Sharples. "By the time we get there, I'm totally confident we will have that position in hand."

Dr Sharples would have input into the decision.

Mr Key last week said the Government would not try to stop the media from publishing league tables.

Yesterday he was less emphatic, saying there was a process to work through "which is how we balance transparency around schooling and the results with making sure there is accurate information".

Dr Sharples' concerns about the negative impacts that could arise from "false" information on schools was "not a challenge for 2010 - it may be for 2012 but it's not for 2010".

Mr Key downplayed a suggestion that Dr Sharples, as an Associate Education Minister, had contravened collective cabinet responsibility by opposing a flagship education policy.

Dr Sharples said later in a statement that he had voiced concerns expressed to him by several kura kaupapa Maori and Maori teachers in mainstream schools. He said he had taken up those concerns, and conveyed them to the Ministry of Education "and we are working through the issues".

Mr Key said he expected boards of trustees to follow the policy but did not repeat a threat to sack schools that didn't follow it.

"This isn't going to be a showdown at the courtroom. This is the Government working constructively with the schooling sector."

Mr Key has softened his approach since meeting standards guru Professor John Hattie of Auckland University last week to listen to his concerns about the implementation.

Professor Hattie told the Herald he had raised with Mr Key ways of increasing confidence in the policy.

Professor Hattie suggested establishing a committee that could channel teachers' concerns, and advise the minister during implementation.

The Government appears set to act on his advice.

Dr Hattie said it was reasonable to establish clear standards about performance but he had many concerns over the implementation of the system.

In a recent paper on national standards he said "the interpretation of the standards will differ across schools".

"Where are the moderation processes that are essential to implementing standards, and why are they not part of the introduction and not a discovery to be tacked on later?"

Clear, definitive and well-developed plans for implementation were needed, as was "agreement as to when to change or abolish the national standards if they led to perverse outcomes".

WHAT SHARPLES SAYS

Pita Sharples, Maori Party co-leader, Associate Minister of Education:

DECEMBER 9, 2009

We want to have the standards set so that Maori can be taught, like every other child, to reach those standards. If they are not achieving them, then we should ask why, and we should do something about it. That is why we support this bill. Let us not carry on hiding things.

FEBRUARY 1, 2010

I have a grave fear that it will repercuss in many ways, not only parents picking and choosing schools but it will mean some schools are going to be low in support from the community, they are going to lose roll numbers, teachers won't go there. All sorts of things could happen.