The impact of PISA and PIRLS on New Zealand s education policies and practices BIFIE-Symposium, Salzburg, Austria 20 February 2012 Kate Lang Ministry of Education New Zealand
The Beehive Wellington
The impact of PISA and PIRLS on New Zealand s education policies and practices An overview of the New Zealand school system Reflections on key PISA and PIRLS results from a system perspective Impact on strategies and priorities for education policy and practice in New Zealand
New Zealand education system The education system of New Zealand today reflects our bicultural heritage, our relatively short colonial history and the enduring vision of a world-leading education system that enables every student to be successful Mi i t f Ed ti (2010) OECD R i E l ti d A t Ministry of Education (2010) OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes
New Zealand Schools Instruction in English 98%, Māori medium 2% Public (96%) and private schools (4%) Integrated curriculum for all schools Compulsory schooling 6-16 years - in practice between 5 and 16+ Primary and secondary - a range of different combinations
How are schools managed in NZ? Financial and administrative roles devolved to schools Schools managed by Boards of Trustees Charter, framework and guidelines set by government Ministry of Education Policy advice to government Develops and supports the curriculum Develops assessment standards Sets minimum i standards d for teachers / salaries Operational funding to schools Monitors performance /intervenes in risk situations Leads cross-government initiatives in education
What do our international studies tell us? How effective is our education system? What should change? What should we focus on? High public interest in results league tables NZ in PIRLS PISA TIMSS since 1994
Key findings in reading achievement since 2000 Fairly consistent patterns across studies and over time No significant change at the system level since 2000 Girls do much better than boys in reading New Zealand s mean reading scores significantly above the international mean New Zealand s relative standing improves with age Gap between high and low performing students wider than most other OECD countries Explanatory factors include SES, ethnicity, home language
NZ girls better than boys at reading GIRLS 18% BOYS 29% % of students not reaching PIRLS intermediate benchmark of 475 (2006) 8% 21% % of students not reaching PISA Reading Proficiency Level 2 (2009)
Ethnic group differences in reading European Māori Pasifika Asian 16% 44% 46% 16% % of students not reaching PIRLS intermediate benchmark of 475 (2006) 9 24% 35% 15% % of students not reaching PISA Reading Proficiency Level 2 (2009)
Socio-economic status and reading literacy LOW MEDIUM HIGH 43% 21% 13% % of students not reaching PIRLS intermediate benchmark of 475 (2006) 25% 13% 4 15% % of students not reaching PISA Reading Proficiency Level 2 (2009)
What is the focus of our education policies and practice? Raising achievement and reducing disparities Targeting priority areas Literacy and numeracy to support the curriculum Low achieving ggroups - Māori, Pasifika and low SES Building knowledge base and capacity of the sector Building understanding of and confidence in the system Focus is on students and their potential unrelenting!
What will help us to achieve system level changes in student achievement? Curriculum Best Evidence National Standards Professional Development Māori initiatives Targeted funding
Review and support of the curriculum New national curriculum introduced Flexibility around teaching and learning National guidelines through framework Schools design their own curricula
Best Evidence Synthesis Programme Building the knowledge base What works best practices Uses international and national research (e.g. PISA, PIRLS, National Monitoring) Suggests educational approaches to optimise outcomes Iterative process
Why? How? National Standards (implemented 2010) No national benchmarks Long tail of underachievement Wide gap between high and low achievers Government election policy in 2008 Developed from literacy practice progressions No national tests teacher judgments Major exercise to align existing classroom tools/ PIRLS to standards Who? Primary students Years 1-8
Professional Learning & Development Resources for students and teachers Seminars Assessment tools Professional development in literacy and numeracy Recent move contestable provider selection Targeting those in greatest t need
Ka Hikitia Managing for Success To improve the performance of our education system for Māori What will make the most difference for Māori learners? Approach that supports Māori self development Move away from a deficit model - towards identifying success See opportunities and realise potential of Māori students Emphasis on reciprocal relationships - teachers and students
Decile Funding Schools receive funding based on decile indicator Additional funding for low decile schools Low decile = students from low SES groups To reduce educational disparities Used as key analysis variablel
New initiatives to target low-performing students and schools Student Achievement Function Programmes for Students
Summary NZ is a high-performing PISA country relative to others in OECD But this is not the case across all studies and all students Need system-level shifts to raise achievement and reduce disparities Not an easy task! Want to know more? http://www.minedu.govt.nz/