Will National Standards make a
difference to your child’s learning?


Joe’s just turned six. He loves reading and has made normal progress in his first year at school, but he’s just been told he’s “below standard”.  He came home and told his mum he hated school. He has refused to read to her since.

Joe is not alone. Half of all New Zealand 5 year olds are going to fail the Year 1 National Standard for reading, even though many of them read at the normal level for their age. Is that OK?



Robert is 10 and has always loved reading but after reading his last report, he came home and cried for an hour in his room.

Despite scoring above average in a PAT test and having a reading age of an 11-12 year old, he was told he was “working toward the Standard”. He took that to mean – “I’m not passing am I?” Is that OK?



Maria is 11 and has just finished her first year at intermediate. She’s struggled with maths in the past, but this year has become really interested. She’s made heaps of progress and consistently scored well in tests but has been told she’s “below Standard”.

She now feels discouraged about trying at all and says she wants to drop maths as soon as she can at secondary school. Is that OK?



Delia is 8. When she came to school, she found reading and writing really hard and her teachers realised she had dyslexia. With intensive support from her parents, teacher and teacher aide, she’s made twice as much progress as most children in a year and now has a reading age of 6.

But she’s just been given a report with “well below Standard” in reading, writing and maths. “You told me I was doing well!” she told her teacher. “But look – I’m rubbish at reading!” Is that OK?

These stories are based on real children, but names and images have been changed to protect their privacy.


Many children who achieve above the national average for their age group are being labelled as “failures” under National Standards.

Other children who start school well below the average can make great progress but will never meet the National Standard. They will be told they are “well below standard” throughout their primary schooling.



In the past, your child’s report may have included information about how they perform nationally compared to their age group, through well-researched assessments tests like PAT, STAR and aSTTLe.

National Standards have been pitched much higher than where children normally achieve for their age. The Ministry of Education claims they have been designed so that all students who meet them will be on track to achieve NCEA Level 2. What it means is that even if your child’ s achievement is average for their age, they are likely to judged either below or just “at” the Standard.

The consequence is that children are being penalised for not meeting a set of National Standards that are “aspirational” for the education system as a whole But how “aspirational is it for children to be in a system that gives them three chances to be just OK, not so great or really rubbish, and just one chance to shine?

Percentages of children expected to be at or above the National Standards.




Because National Standards have never been tested or trialled your children are acting as guinea pigs for a nation-wide trial.

Because National Standards are inconsistent: There is nothing national about National Standards. There are clear mismatches between the current assessment tools which teachers use to measure student progress, and the National Standards, and schools are interpreting and reporting student achievement against the Standards in a wide variety of ways.


New Zealand still leads the world in teaching and learning. But the way National Standards have been constructed and implemented is not fair to children and threatens the quality of our education.

If you’re concerned about the impact of National Standards on your child, please talk to your principal or email us.

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