e-asTTle is an assessment tool widely used by lots of schools in NZ for 'leveling' students' achievement in Reading, Writing and Maths.
It is not currently used at Limehills.
e-asTTle has suddenly discovered that last year's assessments were significantly inflated.
The mean score for e-asTTle was dropped nationally as a result and adjustments were then made to the results from all schools who have submitted results this year.
Some children have been dropped by two grades, which is the difference between being 'at' the 'standard' or 'below' it. (A year's learning - whatever that looks like.)
This was done without consulting schools, many of whom only found out when they found their results had been changed by somebody at e-asTTle.
If that wasn't alarming enough, nothing has been done to those inflated scores from 2012. These scores have been fed into the national standards data about to be published and will 'inform' public opinion on how well one school is performing in relation to another. Accordingly, schools who used e-asTTle will appear to perform well in relation to those who do not.
National Standards continue to be a farce. This latest e-asTTle saga makes a mockery of the government’s claims about quality data.
The current political agenda includes aligning teacher pay to their performance as indicated by that same flawed data.
Surely, better performing schools would then attract higher performing and better paid teachers and continue to improve. Poorer performing schools make do with lower paid staff and continue to struggle. How would that narrow the achievement gaps in NZ? If you remember, that's what National Standards were supposed to be about - "narrowing the gap" and helping the "1 in 5".
Not a chance. We now know that National Standards were inextricably linked to a larger plan to destabilize the teaching unions and privatise education. Politics aside, Kiwi kids will simply be much worse off as a result. Only the corporate elite will benefit.
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