Ministry of Education Assessment Announcement

For Māpua School, this announcement doesn't mean huge changes.  We already use both e-AsTTLe and PAT's, as two of the kete of tools used to gather a rich picture of progress and achievement rather than relying on one high stakes test. We don't necessarily see either of them as the best tool to be giving an accurate picture of progress or achievement across the curriculum as young as Year Three. Phonics checking is an everyday part of our junior teaching approach, all it may mean is a change of testing tool if required.

It is important that as a school community everyone understands that we do already use standardised testing as a part of our assessment. These tests are used as a part of the ongoing assessment which happens in our classrooms to assist both teachers and learners in seeing what 'next steps' are and how well concepts taught have been understood and retained.

The announcement refers to the testing helping to identify learners who need extra support but we are still waiting for any announcement about the provision of that support.  The Minister of Education has referred to improving learning support provisions.  We will watch that space and hope for the best. Schools and whānau already know who would benefit from extra support - we just need the funding to be able to make that happen!

We have already taken steps to provide clarity in our reporting to parents. Feedback on the changes has been positive and so we feel whānau are well informed on both achievement levels and progress through both written reports and face to face meetings.

As with all things, if you do have any questions about assessment or your child's progress please ask.