Almost every primary school principal is opposed to any move that could see children and schools compared in a high-stakes environment in the form of league tables because of the serious damage it can cause to quality teaching and learning.
The ability for such tables to be prepared and thus create a high-stakes environment will be possible next year following the Government's decision to introduce new national standards for schools should safeguards not be built in.
Now to be fair to Ernie, he strings his words together in a very coherent manner. Then again, if the Principal of the Principals couldn't do that, then our education system is deeper in crisis than we already thought it was! His piece is worthy of a read in its entirety.
But he ignores one really important fact. For those of us who are parents, choosing a school for our children is a high-stakes decision. They get one shot at education, and if it goes wrong, the consequences are severe. Accordingly, we believe that parents must be able to access all the information that will help them to make the right choice for their children.
And that's why we completely disgaree with the stance that the Principals' federation is taking, and with Ernie Buutveld when he says, in closing:
The principals are not opposed to national standards. Nor are they opposed to plain language reporting. They are not opposed to sharing data within the school community. They are however, for the sake of our children, implacably opposed to the high-stakes environment of league tables.
2 comments:
I like it when Ernie says his organisation is not against anything because surely are against everything he lists.
The high-stakes he has in mind is the jobs of poor teachers and principals whose failure would be writ large on any comparison. A league table would give the government an idea of which schools are good and which are so poor they need to be closed down at worst, or taken over by successful schools.
Brendan Nelson the former Leader of the Australian Liberal Party has just published comments on league tables in NSW. The arguments against are identical to NZ. His demolition job should be required reading for Anne Tolley. She needs to let principals run schools, control their own budget, and get the best teachers while removing poor teachers and helping those that need assistance to improve.
Dare anyone mention "bulk funding"?
In early July Buutveld wrote this in the Herald:
"The principals are not opposed to national standards. Nor are they opposed to plain language reporting. They are not opposed to sharing data within the school community. They are however, for the sake of our children, implacably opposed to the high-stakes environment of league tables."
Now in the launch he came out and boycotted, there is little doubt in my mind that he has gone back to his NZEI roots (he was a branch president) because all the principals are public servants and they should have been at this launch. Just like principals go to Ministry seminars.
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