As we know John Key made a great deal this week of what he called “misinformation” from those who oppose the National Standards policy. But it seems he might want to look in the mirror for misinfomation. In the Dominion Post today is a letter from Ivan Snook, Emeritus Professor of Education at Massey University. He takes the PM to task about his claims about an Education Review Office report into reading and writing in Years 1 and 2. He takes each of Key’s claims in turn. Over to Ivan;
“1. Two-thirds of teachers were not properly managing assessment. Not correct. It found that some leaders trusted their junior school teacher or leader who knew the pupils well, a perfectly reasonsable thing to do.
2. 30 per cent of teachers were not doing a good job of teaching reading and writing. Not correct. It found that 10 per cent of teachers were less than adequate.
3. Many principals aren’t adequately sharing their school’s achevement information with their communities. Not correct it found that they reported to the school community about their own school, but did not always give data comparing it to other schools”.
Its quite clear that the Government went into furious damage control last week around National Standards. They must have put out the word for some “evidence” to back their claims, and it seems they might have got a bit over-excited.
