Govt to release data that could allow school performance comparisons

The government is making public data that gives detailed data on student achievement and which could also be used to show how schools are performing over time.

The Student Achievement in New Zealand kit uses data gathered between 2001 and 2004, through the use of Asttle, an assessment tool designed to measure the achievement and progress of year 4-12 students.

Asttle has been going for five years. Lobby group Maxim, in an article on the tool, says this makes it possible to compare achievement between similar schools and achievement over time, as well as to compare pupils' achievement with the national average.

Education Minister Steve Maharey said Asttle was used in more than 90 percent of schools.

It gave parents and teachers a much more accurate picture of how their child was doing early on, rather than waiting for gaps in their learning to be picked up in their secondary years.

The Achievement Kit draws on the data gathered from Asttle and will be used to enable teachers to see how their students measure up against benchmarks, and to see areas in which they need to improve.

National standards literacy to be debated

Meanwhile, a bill introducing national standards for literacy is to be debated in Parliament.

National party education spokesman Bill English's bill was drawn from the ballot last month.

"Parents and schools need to know where every child stands relative to national standards and what progress they are making," Mr English said.

Resources

The Student Achievement in New Zealand kit homepage is at this web page.

A statement from education minister Steve Maharey is at this web page.

An article from Maxim on Asttle is at this web page.

A statement from Bill English is at this web page.

A Subtext story about a New Zealand Qualifications Authority website that the Education Forum says could be used to rank schools is at this web page.

A June 2006 Subtext story about the Ministry of Education's SchoolSmart website that commentators say should be used to give parents more information about schools is at this web page.

Another Subtext story (August 2006) about SchoolSmart and school rankings is at this web page.