National+Steroids

=[|National Steroids] = National Education Steroids.

Is your school on steroids? With the introduction of National Standards there is the possibility of competition between schools in the percentage of students achieving standards. If your local school reports high levels of achievement in the school’s annual report you may need to be skeptical.

Could your school be on steroids? NZCER (New Zealand Council of Educational Research) have reported, that on the basis of their accumulated data from PAT testing over decades, they would predict only 30% of students in Year 8 would achieve the National Steroid in Reading. Professor John Hattie has reported that only 10-20% of the primary population is likely to reach the National Steroid in Writing.

If your school is reporting achievement levels of greater than 50%, you have every right to be skeptical. You should ask for evidence. A PAT stanine of 7 (meaning a student is in the top 23% of the population) is not enough to guarantee a child has reached the standard for his or her year.

Why would your school take steroids? A school's performance against National Steroids will be made available to their community and subsequently to anyone who cares to know through the school's annual report as also will neighbouring schools’. In any competitive situation there are those who will attempt to enhance their performance unfairly, particularly where this enhancement is unlikely to be detected.

Are there any checks on schools' self-reporting of achievement? No. There is no national test. There is no moderation of assessment between schools. Please beware of the spurious objectivity National Steroids provide when you receive your child’s report.

As in competitive sports there will be honest performers whose reputations are besmirched by the culture in which they are now forced to operate. Are they really training that hard, or could they be on steroids. How do we know for sure their high levels of reported achievement are not artificially enhanced?

Will schools really perform better in this sort of environment? In all honesty I believe that any Primary School would do better for your child without the pressure induced by the introduction of National Steroids.