PPTA Conference

Thanks for the opportunity to address this conference. I am pleased to be here again, this time as a second term Minister of Education.

I want to start off by acknowledging rather than ignoring the last eighteen months.
No-one denies it has been pretty tough. A lengthy negotiation process, coupled with the introduction of a new qualifications system, tested all of us.
I have heard what teachers have been saying. I acknowledge that some of you thought that took too long. We have taken steps to address issues of concern to secondary teachers such as workload, staffing and the implementation of the NCEA.
We are now in a position move forward.
This government is ambitious for New Zealand. We want to improve our economic performance so that all New Zealanders have security, opportunity and the best possible standard of living.
Education is critical to our success.
Your goal to make sure every student reaches her or his educational potential is one we share.
We want to make sure every young person is secure in the knowledge of who they are and of their place in the world.
We want all our kids well prepared to contribute to and participate in a world where technology plays a dominant role in our lives.
An extraordinary amount has been achieved in education in the last few years. It has been both demanding and inspiring.

We need to build on the successes. And I think we all have a role to play in making that happen.

We need to be clear about what we want the education system to deliver.

There are four key outcomes I believe we all share:

§strong learning foundations
§successful school leavers
§motivated and self-directed life-long learners
§knowledge creation and innovation

How do we meet these outcomes?

We focus on what makes the real difference.

And making a difference is a shared responsibility.
I want to acknowledge the real strength and achievement in the sector.
It has coped with growth in student numbers in the senior secondary school over the last 30 years, along with the broadening of subjects, and major changes in student need.
This underlines the achievement of the PISA results, showing that the performance of our top students is world class.
Yes our tops were tops - but also the median scores were world class.
PISA is a tribute to the profession – and our schools and our teachers deserve recognition for their part in it.
The results from that study also highlight some of the issues facing secondary education in 2002.
While they tell us that secondary schools are doing a good job for most students, and a very good job for some students, there are some kids who are not doing so well.
It also tells us that there is a greater variation in student achievement within schools than between schools.
The message - which you will have known for a while – is that we have one of the biggest spread of results, with Maori and Pasifika students, particularly boys, over-represented at the lower end.
Coupled to this are the changing demographics of the school population, with Maori and Pasifika students making up an ever-larger chunk of the cohort.
We know that close to 10,000 students still walk out of the school gate each year with no qualification - a figure that has not altered much over a decade irrespective of resourcing levels.

We also know the number of students that are exempted from school at age 15 is growing.

Why is this the situation? And how do we turn it around for these kids?

We need all of our young people to achieve and to have those achievements recognised through qualifications.

More students, many more, need to be acquiring qualifications while at school in order to become fully participating citizens of our society.

The Beeby vision may still hold, but in a year when we are celebrating the centenary of his birth, we need to acknowledge we are yet to realise his vision in terms of equity of outcomes.

A key priority for the next few years therefore is to keep the focus on the things that will make the biggest difference to student learning.
We need to keep the focus on high expectations for all students.
Today’s classrooms contain a diverse range of students whose learning needs must be met.

We have students following a wider range of pathways who must be supported.

All around us I see good working examples of initiatives that are making a difference.

Innovative projects like the Early Childhood Primary Links Project in South Auckland are lifting the reading ability of children at school entry and boosting the number of six-year olds who can read.

Such projects convince me that students from any background can - and should - succeed.

Up and down the country we have teachers and schools that integrate very effectively Mäori tikanga and language into teaching across the curriculum.

They ensure that their students are ready for tomorrow’s global world; standing tall in their identity and culture.

We see schools dramatically lowering their suspension rates.

We see schools that meet the learning needs of kids with special needs and disabilities brilliantly.

What happens for kids during the school years, plays a key role in their future success.

But it isn’t just schools that have a part to play.

As the Minister of State Services I have been involved in an extensive project which aims to strengthen the public service.

Part of that work is looking to reduce fragmentation and promote cross-agency collaboration to ensure people have access to information, support and services when they need it.

We’re also working with communities. We’re involved in a number of iwi partnerships. We’re involved with business.

We’re working together to support young people’s learning, to provide opportunities and help them reach their potential.

We know home and language factors don’t determine kids low achievement.

We know that where they do succeed teachers’ and parents’ expectations of them are high. They are inspired and motivated.

There is no denying that teaching is a highly demanding job.

We will work with teachers to identify and understand best practice – to know what makes a difference. And then support the profession to do their job and do it well.
Part of this process will be fostering a high trust environment where teachers are working on improvement in practice and student outcomes are continually rising.
Building trust will involve some risk taking.

We will need to be more honest about constraints.

We will need to be realistic about workloads and expectations, in areas like the NCEA.

When I became Minister in 1999, and even before that, I made it clear that the NCEA was not my preferred approach, but that I was open to discussion about the future.
I had that discussion with the sector, including with the PPTA, and I realised support for the NCEA was there.
Teachers said they needed a further year before implementation, I agreed.
Now NCEA is here, we can’t afford to lose momentum.
We now know we underestimated the level of work required to achieve Level 1.
But I do think that getting any system-wide shift like the NCEA on the road was never going to be completely free of difficulties.
Your feedback was always important in getting the details right.
I know that many teachers have found the transition too hard and too confusing.
That’s why we’ve taken steps to improve the process such as working on the software problems, doubling the number of school relationship manager positions, and improving our communications.
We recognise that the profession is not united behind the idea of moving on to Level 2 next year.
The tension is very easy to describe: on the one hand, there are those teachers and those schools which do not feel ready to go give their full attention to Level 2 in 2003.
On the other hand there are teachers and schools which are fully up and running and are demanding that NCEA goes ahead.
We need to find the middle ground.
What does that look like?
If schools feel they are not ready to go ahead with Level 2 next year, they must offer something else.
I have already signalled my willingness for a version of Sixth Form Certificate to be available in 2003 and 2004.
I acknowledge the HODs around the country who have given up their time to talk with the Ministry and NZQA about implementation issues in their schools and departments.
They have said a lot about professional development.
The work that has been done to develop material for Level 2 training has addressed the issues that people had with some of the Level 1 material and is ready to go. In fact it has been ready to go for some time and I should warn you it is based on the draft standards and you will need to make minor adjustments now we have final standards.
The HODs also expressed their interest in training opportunities designed to give people more confidence in designing and adapting assessment material.
I have been in discussions with the Ministry on the level of support needed and we’re working on the basis of 3 days this year for professional development.
There will be one Level 2 professional development workshop available to all schools. In addition, schools will have two school only days, run by the schools, or if they wish in clusters.
These three days will occur during senior examination time this year.
In addition there will be one generic workshop focusing on assessment design early in term 1 next year and a further Level 2 workshop for those teachers participating in Level 2, early in term two.
There will be one Level 3 workshop in term 2 and one late in term 3. The first will focus on programme planning and an overview of Level 3 and scholarship standards. The second will focus on capability in making decisions and will use resources that have been trialed in schools.

I don’t believe it is possible to run level 3 alongside bursary.
One big risk is that if we change the timeframe now, some schools will start looking elsewhere for qualifications.
I am also concerned for individual students who in good faith began on a pathway through the new system in year 11. They are relying on subjects being available in 2004.
The first year wasn’t easy – but we covered a lot of ground that we wont have to cover again.
I remain convinced that there is real benefit in the new system – it offers better information and more diverse learning pathways.
It offers the opportunity to move to a system which includes assessment for learning rather than simply assessment of learning.
It relies on a high level of trust in teachers’ professional judgement.
But also recognise that schools will need to be able to move at the pace that suits their level of readiness. That mix could well include offering external standards at level 2 next year.
I am committed to maintaining and improving the level of support in order to manage workload pressures.
I want to make the transition easier.
NCEA is part of a wider set of issues – how do we position the secondary sector for the needs of the future.
The future of secondary education - and more important, of our kids - is at stake.
I acknowledge there have been times during the 1990’s when principals and teachers felt they were shut out of decision-making.
I want that to change. We need a new approach.
Many of you will be aware that I have advocated for some time, the need to look at the future for secondary education. What will it look like in 15 or 20 years time? What will we need to do to make sure we can meet that challenge?
I want us to work together and come up with a collective view on the future of secondary education.

We will need good processes and there will need to be a genuine desire to listen to other points of view, to own problems and come up with solutions.

I would like to see some new ideas emerge about how secondary schools can be strengthened to provide the best possible education for all students.

In conclusion, I want to reinforce my belief that working together is the way forward.

If we want:
§every student reaching her or his educational potential
§every student to be secure in the knowledge of who they are and of their place in the world
§every student well prepared to contribute to and participate in a technology driven world
then we need to focus on the critical factors that make the real difference.

The list of things that are good to do in education is probably endless.

We cannot do them all because time and resources are limited.

I want to talk with the teaching profession and move forward with a shared view of what makes the difference to teaching and learning.

We need to consolidate our gains, explore the possibilities, and find innovative, leading-edge solutions to support and improve student achievement.

It’s our future.