Issue 7, March 2002

This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks at the intent and effect of the Education Standards Act 2001, which has introduced the requirement that every school's charter include planning for improvement of student outcomes.

Raising standards of achievement relies on creating a climate in schools of open, reflective and rigorous self-evaluation. ... When schools put learning at the centre and self-evaluation is built in, not bolt-on, the drive for quality is given momentum.

Bertelsmann-Stiftung (1999). Promoting Quality. Guetersloh: International Network of Innovative School Systems, page 4 (report of 1999 annual Conference).

How are the new requirements different from previous requirements?

Why have these changes been made?

What are the implications of the changes?

How should schools set about meeting these new requirements?

What assistance is available?

How are the new requirements different from previous requirements?

The revised National Administration Guidelines (NAGs), effective from 1 July 2000, required schools, among other things, to:

• develop a strategic plan that documents how they are giving effect to the National Education Guidelines;
• maintain an ongoing programme of self-review; and
• report to students and their parents on the achievement of individual students and to the school's community on the achievement of students as a whole and of identified groups of students.

The Education Standards Act 2001 does not change these requirements. Rather, it emphasises their importance by bringing them into the Education Act and sharpens the focus on student achievement. The amended Education Act also highlights the need for schools to be deliberate and purposeful in their approach to ongoing school improvement.

The legislative changes mark the first time in our history that achievement in student learning has been mentioned in the Education Act.

Why have these changes been made?

The world is changing.

• Continued social and economic growth in the "knowledge society" demands continual improvement of educational outcomes. What is good enough today will be neither good enough nor appropriate tomorrow.
• New Zealand's demographic situation is changing rapidly. By 2040, people of non-European background will be the majority. The parents and the working-age population of 2040 are in our classrooms now. Both policy and practice must address issues of increasing diversity.

Education policy must respond to such changes. The Government seeks:

• to improve outcomes for all students through increased effectiveness in teaching and learning and through improved responsiveness to diversity;
• to promote a high-trust professional environment in which teachers are empowered to accept these responsibilities;
• to support improved professional capability;
• to develop high-quality assessment tools to support quality evaluation of student learning;
• to encourage everyone associated with education to be more explicit in articulating their expectations;
• to shift the emphasis from compliance to quality educational outcomes;
• to encourage openness and debate about achievement goals, expectations, and the standards achieved.

The changes to legislation:

• make improved outcomes for students the highest priority for school leaders and managers;
• require boards and principals to be more explicit in articulating their expectations;
• require boards and senior managers in schools to monitor school performance by implementing and reporting on quality assessment of student outcomes;
• set the framework for a culture of continuous improvement through a process of goal setting and data-driven annual self-review;
• seek to engage families and communities more closely in the education of their children through requiring schools to disclose their plans, targets, and outcomes.

What are the implications of the changes?

• School charters will now include:
  • a strategic planning section, in which each school's board describes its long-term goals for student achievement;
  • an annually updated section, which sets out each school's specific targets for improved achievement (that is, the steps towards achieving the strategic goals).
    
• The inclusion of these dynamic planning components will give effect to each school's vision and enhance the role and status of school charters as living documents.
• In annual reports to their school communities, beginning with the report on the 2003 year, boards of trustees are required to discuss any differences between the outcomes they have achieved and the targets that they earlier set themselves, in other words, to describe the results of their self-review.

From 2003, schools are required to lodge copies of the annually updated part of their charter and their annual reports with the Ministry of Education.

A number of schools already have rigorous and effective school improvement processes in place. For these schools, the key difference under the new legislation is the requirement to send their charter plan and report to the Ministry of Education (as all schools currently do with their annual financial reports).

How should schools set about meeting these new requirements?

Strategic planning that makes a difference to student outcomes is not merely about "producing a strategic plan". It is about:

• collecting and analysing evidence; and
• establishing, maintaining, and monitoring a deliberate strategy of improvement.

A school that is focused on improving its teaching and learning actively seeks high-quality information about its performance:

The more a school collaborates and the more interesting changes it makes, the more that school staff seek evaluation data ... such schools actively seek external standards to test and extend their performance
M. Fullan (1999). Change Forces: The Sequel. London: Falmer Press, page 47.

The Government expects that schools will gather and analyse high-quality information about their students' performance to determine which areas should have priority for improvement. Schools will plan and implement programmes that aim to lift student achievement in those identified areas.

Research 1 related to school improvement tells us that successful schools:

• are committed to making a difference;
• focus on student performance;
• set clear objectives for improved student achievement;
• foster a professional learning community in which teachers accept responsibility for improving student learning through high-quality classroom practice;
• allocate their resources to support their objectives; and
• monitor and report on their performance in relation to the objectives that they have set themselves.

Schools might therefore choose to begin by asking themselves three fundamental questions:

Where do we want to be?
On what information are we basing our expectations?

Where are we now?
How do we know?

What steps can we take?
What good practice will ensure our success?

Flowing on from these first questions, effective planning may well involve:

• evaluating data and clarifying expectations about student achievement;
• identifying specific areas for improvement;
• drawing on current research or on people who have up-to-date expertise;
• developing relatively simple strategies and implementing them consistently at classroom level;
• providing appropriate professional development and school-wide support for implementation;
• ensuring ongoing evaluation and feedback.

Two examples of research are:
P. Sammons, J. Hillman, and P. Mortimore (1995). Key Characteristics of Effective Schools. London: Office for Standards in Education.
J. Hattie (1999). "Influences on Student Learning". Inaugural Professorial Address, University of Auckland. Refer under "Papers" at www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/edu/staff/jhattie/ermindex.html

What assistance is available?

A variety of support will be provided to help schools focus on improving student achievement.

The National Assessment Strategy
The National Assessment Strategy will extend the currently available range of assessment tools that enable schools to gather high-quality, externally referenced information for analysis and planning. The new assessment tools include:

• the asTTle literacy and numeracy tools;
• the National Exemplars in the seven essential learning areas in English and te reo Māori (a draft set of exemplars, currently being trialled in over 200 schools, can be viewed at www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/index_e.php);
• the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).

Professional development associated with the strategy will focus on improving classroom assessment practice.

Leadership and management development for principals
A programme for both experienced and new school principals was announced in the 2001 Budget. It will focus on a strategic, data-driven approach to school development.

A new planning tool for schools
A working group of school principals is producing a tool that schools can use to help them with their planning processes. This "thinking template" is designed to be used in a flexible way. It is being evaluated in approximately 120 volunteer schools.

Support
Around mid-year, information seminars will be held throughout the country for school boards and principals to hear more about the implications of the new legislation and the use of the "thinking template". Ongoing support for schools that need help will be provided by advisers in school management and through contacts for board training.

The Management Information and Resourcing database
The Ministry's Management Information and Resourcing (MIR) database system is being redeveloped to record all the details of each school so that funding, property, and staffing entitlements can be calculated more efficiently and so that each school can have access to the data that the Ministry holds about it. Planning and reporting data from schools will be able to be included in this database.

School reviews
The Education Review Office's new "assess and assist" review model complements the initiatives outlined above. This review model focuses on the ways in which programmes and processes contribute to student achievement.

Published 2002 for the Ministry of Education by Learning Media Limited, Box 3293, Wellington, New Zealand. Website:www.learningmedia.co.nz
Copyright © Crown 2002. All rights reserved.
Enquiries should be made to the publisher. Item number 10419

Issue 10
This issue of Sharpening the Focus outlines the support available to schools and teachers as they address the need for students to develop high levels of competence (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values) in physical education and physical activity. It also includes the amended sections relating to physical activity in the National Education Goals (NEGs) and National Administration Guidelines (NAGs).

Issue 9
This issue of Sharpening the Focus outlines support that is available for schools in addressing the needs of their gifted and talented students.

Issue 8
This issue of Sharpening the Focus, is a newsletter for boards of trustees, principals, and teachers on school management and administration.

Issue 7
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks at the intent and effect of the Education Standards Act 2001, which has introduced the requirement that every school's charter include planning for improvement of student outcomes.

Issue 6
This issue of Sharpening the Focus discusses the National Education Guidelines' requirement for boards of trustees to identify and provide for students who have special needs related to disabilities, learning difficulties, and behavioural problems. It also answers some frequently asked questions.

Issue 5
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at the relationship between the revised National Administration Guideline 2 and professional development and answers some frequently asked questions.

Issue 4
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at the requirements that the revised National Administration Guideline 2 places on schools as they undertake strategic planning.

Issue 3
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at what schools will need to consider as they align their curriculum and assessment policies and practices to the revised National Administration Guidelines 1 and 2.

Issue 2
This issue includes information on Kia mahitahi - working together, Frequently Asked Questions, and Better Relationships for Better Learning.

Issue 1
This newsletter backgrounds the recent revision of the National Education Guidelines, outlines the help to be offered to schools as they adjust to the new requirements, and answers some frequently asked questions.