The Honourable Erica Stanford is the current Minister of Education in the National Government, attending the NZAI conference for the third time. In this keynote address she speaks of what is being done at the system and the classroom level to achieve our common goal of raising achievement and increasing equity. She speaks of the immediate need for changes to the education system to turn around falling achievement numbers in international testing and national monitoring and, importantly, a large equity gap.
The Minister explains that a fundamental curriculum shift is being enacted, from one which emphasised learning competencies and self direction to a curriculum based on knowledge. Higher order thinking skills, she stresses, are built on knowledge. The curriculum is now deliberately sequenced and expects explicit, structured teaching, grounded in the science of learning.
The Minister expresses her support for high quality assessment practice, which gives consistent and clear information to everyone in the system, from the student to the Ministry. This includes the phonics check, the upcoming maths check, SMART and PAT testing and changes to NCEA. She wants to dispel the negative myths around assessment and ensure that it is understood to be about monitoring progress, celebrating success and giving support to those who need it.
