The Search For Better Educational Standards: A Cautionary Tale (evaluating Education: Normative Systems And Institutional Practices)
by Martin Thrupp /
2017 / English / PDF
2.8 MB Download
This book deals with the development of New Zealand’s standards
system for primary school achievement, ‘Kiwi Standards’, which
took effect from 2010 onwards and is becoming increasingly
embedded over time. The approach, where teachers make ‘Overall
Teacher Judgements’ based on a range of assessment tools and
their own observations rather than using any particular national
test, has created predictable problems with moderation within and
across schools. It has been claimed that this ‘bold’ Kiwi
Standards approach avoids the narrowed curriculum and mediocre
outcomes of high-stakes assessment in other countries. Yet this
book suggests it just produces another variant of the same
problems and demonstrates that even a relatively weak high-stakes
assessment approach still produces performative effects. The book
provides a blow by blow account of the development of a policy
including the continuous repositioning of New Zealand’s
Government as it has sought to justify the policy in the face of
opposition from educators. Indeed the Kiwi Standards tale
provides a world-class example of teachers fighting back against
policy, with the help of academics. There is an indigenous Māori
aspect to the story as well. Finally, this book also provides
comparative international perspectives including responses from
well-known US, English and Australian academics.
This book deals with the development of New Zealand’s standards
system for primary school achievement, ‘Kiwi Standards’, which
took effect from 2010 onwards and is becoming increasingly
embedded over time. The approach, where teachers make ‘Overall
Teacher Judgements’ based on a range of assessment tools and
their own observations rather than using any particular national
test, has created predictable problems with moderation within and
across schools. It has been claimed that this ‘bold’ Kiwi
Standards approach avoids the narrowed curriculum and mediocre
outcomes of high-stakes assessment in other countries. Yet this
book suggests it just produces another variant of the same
problems and demonstrates that even a relatively weak high-stakes
assessment approach still produces performative effects. The book
provides a blow by blow account of the development of a policy
including the continuous repositioning of New Zealand’s
Government as it has sought to justify the policy in the face of
opposition from educators. Indeed the Kiwi Standards tale
provides a world-class example of teachers fighting back against
policy, with the help of academics. There is an indigenous Māori
aspect to the story as well. Finally, this book also provides
comparative international perspectives including responses from
well-known US, English and Australian academics.