Mark Potter: NZEI President on the introduction of standardised testing for primary school students

The primary teachers union says the Government's new school tests won't make a difference.  

The Government's introducing phonics checks done after 20 weeks of schooling and repeated at 40 weeks.  

Progression monitoring on reading, writing, and maths will also be introduced for children in Years 3 through 8, and done twice a year.  

NZEI president Mark Potter told Mike Hosking teachers already assess, analyse, and use that to inform their teaching. 

He says there's not that many that don't use these tests, but if they don't, they'll have other assessments that give similar information. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Change also coming to primary schools. As I'm sure you're
well aware, standardized testing arrives next to you in ZEIST
President Mark Potters back, what does make very good morning
to you?

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Morning am?

Speaker 1 (00:10):
I Some use it, some don't. Those who use it
seem to like it. Is that fair?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah? The fact the majority use these assessments. So it's
not particularly a great game changer really.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
So it's just looking for consistency across the sector. Is
that any bad thing?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, yeah, we're not saying it's not helpful, but what
we're saying it's so prevalent it's not really to make
that much of a difference. Teachers already assess, they're already
MS and they already use it and to form their teaching.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Why don't those who don't use it don't use it?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, there's actually not that mean that don't use it,
but they aren't using those particular tests. They'll have assessments
that they do use that gives similar information.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
So what seemed to come out of the minister yesterday
was the two tests that they're looking to you or
want to use give some sort of allegedly reassurance that
this isn't about standards and goals and polls and all
that sort of stuff. Do you accept that or not?

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Really? Well, really, what it is is it's a lovely
sounding statement, but all this doing is a stipulating two
points in a year. That's not going to make a
big difference for the teachers. They already do assessment throughout
the year anyway.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Right, So the argument as parents will know more, is
that true or not? Do you think?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, it's hard to know what they'll know more than
what is currently available now. So just by saying you've
got to use these two particular tools won't necessarily improve
or increase the information that parents will already have.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Although the information if you're at a school as a parent,
if you're at a school that doesn't do testing, what
you're taking on board, I'm assuming is the teacher going yep, no,
Brian's doing reasonably well at the moment, as opposed to
something more specific which your test would give.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, I don't think they will give such ague comments.
But what there's absolute quality and the conversation between the
teacher and a parent as to what's happening with the
child and their learning and what's the best way forward.
Just using exactly the same standard statement is necessarily going
to make that more informed?

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Is this a little Chris Hipkins was trying to talk you.
So they're trying every time the word testing comes up,
they're trying to sort of elevate the anxiety. Allegedly, kids
will be anxious. Do you subscribe to that or not?

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Really, Well, we do know that that is the case,
particularly the children that will find the most difficult. Anxiety
is a well known factor that comes out of that.
So schools and teachers have tried to come up with
different ways of assessing without having that same anxiety inducing
option opportunity being arising.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Is anxiety a bad thing necessarily?

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, yeah, it really depends on the individual, doesn't it.
If we are children being testers who are very happy
and stronger than those areas, anxiety won't be a big issue.
But evidences, and it's not just for children, anxiety actually
does decrease a person's ability to make decisions and to
be their best.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
So you I get you back in the year's time
once of testing. Everyone's doing the same sort of tests
every year, you would expect no great difference to what
we're seeing currently.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Well, we can't see the game changer in this this
profession has been asking for many, many years for things
that will change the game, such as better resources for
learning support and the training of and retention of more teachers,
more options for the teachers to have more time to
prepare and analyze the assessments they do have. We don't

(03:38):
see any of those kind of initiatives yet. If those
things came in, then I'll be really expecting to see
some shifts and changes. But when we're just doing announcements
or of things, the very common practice. Again, you know
how many dictais can you move around and think you can.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Get a difference right, Well, watch you. I appreciate it.
Make Marc Potter, who's the n z EI president.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
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Speaker 1 (04:06):
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