In the 1980’s New Zealand education was regarded as among the best in the world. Literacy rates were nearly 100% for children over 5 years. Performance indicators for maths, literacy and comprehension were among the best in the O.E.C.D.
So, what happened?
Starting in 1989, when the then Labour Government introduced the “Tomorrows Schools” overhaul, the education system has been increasingly exposed to neoliberal ideals. The philosophy of everyone getting a fair go at the education system started to be undermined.
On one hand it would be more democratic. All schools had to elect a Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees had to write a charter that would govern the school. An Education Review Office, which had the task of monitoring school performance was established. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority which had to administer the assessment of educational qualifications was also established. Private schools would be integrated into the system, and scholarships were opened up to more students.
On the other, it was the first step in introducing market economics to the school system. For the first time basic costs of stationery, uniforms, enrolment and so forth began to increase in supposed line with market conditions. It was also the first time that serious attempts were made to look for efficiencies in funding (read budget cuts).
A hint of what was to come was found in the 1991 fiscal budget more notoriously known as the Mother of All Budgets. It was a massive slash and burn exercise of the social welfare system. The attack on the social welfare system undermined the ability of parents in lower socio-economic groups to afford basic school needs.
In 1999, Labour came to office, and introduced National Certificate of Educational Achievement, which was taken from the out going National Government. The idea was that it would make the assessment regime in Years 11-13 more equitable for all students. To the credit of the departed National led Government, there seemed to be some idea about how it would be implemented.
The old exam/project/test regime that varied across subjects – some like Geography were 1/3 internal/2/3 external in their assessment. Others like English and Maths all hung on a 100% 3 hour external exam. N.C.E.A. would replace that with credits earned by completing Unit Standard assessments, which would vary from one subject to the next.
The problem is when one is awarded the credits, there was nothing to say how well you did. A Unit Standard was simply marked when I was at high school with, Pass, Fail or Not Yet Complete. There was no indication whether your pass/fail was by a bare minimum – e.g. 51% or 49%, or a major pass like 70-80% or more. I found that really off putting. I also found the mixing of them with traditional assessment methods in subjects like history and mathematics confusing.
Since N.C.E.A. there has been another decline enabled by National Standards, which the Government of Prime Minister John Key wanted to introduce to the Years prior to Year 11. It was not popular with Parent Teacher Associations. The exams that were to be introduced could become a point of contention among students before they really needed to face formal assessment regimes.
On top of this though is the growing stress of managing the non-teaching workload. All of the school trips, sports events all have to be guided through an increasingly complex maze of bureaucracy. Obviously schools need to have a record of what their students have done, but combined with teaching and disciplinary matters, it can add up to over 12 hours a day of work. The idea that a teachers day ends when the school day ends is long gone.
But should it be? Is there a better way to manage the school system?
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