We have an education system that is among the best in the world.
It gives our students a platform to compete here and internationally.
Four out of five children are successfully getting the qualifications they need.
We must celebrate their success and the professionals in our system who make that possible every day.
But National’s education plan is about getting five out of five.
To achieve that, we have set an ambitious better public services target of 85% of 18 year-olds achieving NCEA Level 2 or equivalent by 2017.
This is the first year that we have reported the results of all 18-year-olds and we are delighted that 74.3% attained NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification last year.
At school level, nearly 72% of school leavers achieved at least NCEA Level 2, compared with 66.4% in 2009.
About 51% of Maori students achieved NCEA Level 2 in 2011, up from 44% in 2009, and Pasifika students rose from 55.7% to just over 63%
These are great results, but we still need to work harder to ensure all children leave school with the skills they need to reach their potential.
Until now, we have had to rely only on NCEA data at the end of compulsory schooling to provide us with a picture of our education system.
Helping hands
The introduction of National Standards has allowed us to support all learners and target those who are falling behind much earlier and give them the help they need.
The information gained from this first set of National Standards data is powerful for identifying and providing support for all learners.
Schools have put considerable effort to report National Standards and we would like to thank them for the work they have done.
It helps to raise achievement for all learners.
National Standards data is now available online at www.educationcounts.govt.nz
For parents to get a complete picture of their child’s school they need to look at schools’ Education Review Office (ERO) and annual reports (also available on the Education Counts website).
They also need to talk to principals, teachers, schools trustees and other parents.
The ERO has also produced a booklet to help parents ask schools about how their child is doing. It is available at the ERO website.
Kalwaljit Singh Bakshi is Member of Parliament on National’s List.
