New Zealand

While Minister of Education Hekia Parata is keen to avoid another fight with teachers, her Ministry will be compiling and releasing some “useful” information based on the National Standards that is meaningful for learners, schools, and parents.  Earlier, Prime Minister John Key opened debate about league tables when he expressed support for them.  (League tables compare data from different academic institutions.)  The teacher union believes league tables “would have a severely damaging effect on children’s education and would unfairly label schools and students as failing.”  Professor Martin Thrupp, an expert on school league tables says, “introducing the system here would lead to schools narrowing their teaching focus, competing for the ‘best’ students and rejecting those who fall behind in order to reach national targets.”