Questions and answers
Background
What are Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
Our national curriculum sets the direction for teaching and learning in Aotearoa
New Zealand schools in two documents: Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the
curriculum for Māori medium schools and settings, and The New Zealand
Curriculum for English medium schools.
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori support Te Marautanga o Aotearoa by
establishing clear and consistent expectations for kōrero (oral language), pānui
(reading), tuhituhi (writing) and pāngarau (mathematics) skills and knowledge
that students in years 1-8 need to learn at different stages of their schooling.
They signal important points to watch for to guide teaching, learning, and
assessment practices. This is so students can access all areas of the curriculum,
and raise achievement so young people leave kura or school with the
qualifications they need to succeed.
The implementation of Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori includes developing
plain language reporting to parents and whānau, developing literacy and
numeracy assessment tools for the Māori medium, and professional development
for teachers, principals and boards of trustees.
What did we do during the consultation for Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki
Māori?
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori have been developed and drafted by Māori
medium leaders in te reo (literacy) and pāngarau (numeracy).
From March to June 2010, the Ministry of Education consulted in-depth with
teachers, principals, boards of trustee members, education groups, and iwi in the
Māori medium sector.
From March to June 2010, there was consultation with parents and whānau about
plain language reporting in relation to the draft Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
We used a range of examples as the basis for the consultation.
The consultation analysis reports are available on the Ministry of Education’s
website.
We reviewed and refined the draft Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori using this
feedback and published the final Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori in late 2010.
All kura and Māori medium settings will use them from February 2011.
Read more about the consultation.
How was information gathered to assist with finalising Ngā
Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
Information was gathered from 42 kura and Māori medium settings using the
draft Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori. All Māori medium principals, teachers
and boards of trustees within these schools and settings were provided with
opportunities to participate in workshops, which contributed to further developing
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
Read more about information gathering.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
Why is the timeline for Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori different from
the English medium National Standards?
The Māori medium sector is relatively young and there is less information
available to design Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori than we had for the English
medium National Standards. And so, the Ministry of Education used the longer
time to gather information to ensure Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori are set at
appropriate curriculum levels of progress and achievement and to ensure they
align with Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
Boards and principals
What is the timeline for implementing Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
In 2011 teachers must report to parents and whānau in writing and using plain
language, at least twice a year on their child’s progress and achievement in
relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
Boards of trustees must set Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori targets in their
2012 charters. They will report against these targets in their 2013 annual reports.
What must boards report in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki
Māori?
The new National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) require schools to report
school-level data on Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori in the board’s annual
report under three headings:
•
School strengths and identified areas for improvement.
•
The basis for identifying areas for improvement.
•
Planned actions to lift achievement.
Report in the board’s annual report on:
•
The number and proportion of students at, above, below or well below the
standards including by Māori, Pasifika and by gender (where this does not
breach an individual’s privacy).
•
How students are progressing against the standards as well as how they
are achieving.
Read more about the NAGs.
Which standards should schools and settings be using?
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori support te reo and pāngarau teaching and
learning across Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, and the National Standards support
literacy and numeracy teaching and learning across the New Zealand Curriculum.
Schools with both English medium and Māori medium settings are likely to be
using both the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. An
individual students’ learning plan will come under only one curriculum, not both.
Bilingual schools and settings will also need to decide which of the curricula will
set the direction for learning for their individual students.
Teachers of students that have their learning programmes based on Te
Marautanga o Aotearoa should be using Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori to plan
learning programmes and report students’ progress and achievement.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
Teachers of students that have their learning programmes based on the New
Zealand Curriculum should be using the National Standards to set the direction
for learning and reporting students’ progress and achievement.
What support will the Ministry provide?
The Ministry’s contractors who provide training to Boards of Trustees will support
school governance to understand their roles and responsibilities, particularly in
relation to supporting their staff learning needs and the reporting processes.
Schools can continue to access support for designing their marautanga-ā-kura
(local curriculum). They were asked to complete an Expression of Interest so that
that targeted support could be arranged for 2011.
Professional learning and development (PLD) for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori will be implemented in a variety of ways to
ensure that all kura and Māori-medium settings can participate. They include
participating in:
•
An in-depth professional development programme administered by
facilitators throughout 2011. Kura and Māori-medium settings that choose
to participate in this programme will have identified this as their priority
PLD programme for 2011.
•
Regional workshops hosted by a range of In-service Teacher Educators
(ISTEs) in all regions throughout the year. Kura and Māori-medium
settings that choose to participate in this will be advised of the focus of
these and when they occur.
•
Workshops as required. These workshops will be designed to assist those
who already have a clear understanding of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori, and would like to access support in
specific areas only.
Schools can also continue to get support from:
•
Resource Teachers Māori
•
School Support Services (SSS) advisors
•
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa Regional Facilitators.
How does Te Āhua o te Ākonga ka puta (Graduate Profile) relate to Ngā
Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori will support a school to provide appropriate
learning and teaching programmes so that the vision and aspirations within the
marautanga-a-kura are achieved.
What can school leadership teams do to prepare for implementing Ngā
Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
•
Clarify with your community which curriculum statement, Te Marautanga o
Aotearoa or The New Zealand Curriculum, will set the direction for learning
for students in your kura or Māori-medium settings.
•
Plan how your kura or Māori-medium settings will work with Ngā
Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori from term 1 2011.
•
Identify Board of Trustees, school leaders’ and teachers’ learning needs
and plan how you want to participate in workshops with the Ministry about
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori within your region.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
•
Access information and support about Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori
and professional learning and development opportunities from the
Ministry’s website www.tmoa.tki.org.nz. Alternatively, contact your
Regional Ministry office.
Will initial teacher education courses cover Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki
Māori?
Teacher education providers are independent organisations and design their own
courses. However, the courses must allow graduates to meet the teacher
registration criteria set by the New Zealand Teachers Council. The Council’s
Graduating Teacher Standards Aotearoa Standard Five is: graduating teachers
use evidence to promote learning requires that graduating teachers:
•
Gather, analyse and use assessment information to improve learning and
inform planning.
•
Know how to communicate assessment information appropriately to
learners, their parents/caregivers and staff.
Setting goals
Do schools and teachers, in consultation with whānau, need to set
learning goals with students for Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori for
2011?
All students should know what goals they are working towards in kōrero (oral
language), pānui (reading), tuhituhi (writing) and pāngarau (mathematics) and
why those goals are important. Previous years’ assessment information will help
you know your students’ abilities. For some students, you may wish to revisit
their progress and achievement before setting goals with them.
What about goals in the other learning areas? Do students need these as
well?
Yes students should have goals across all learning areas. Helping students set
their own learning goals helps them understand what they know and what they
need to learn. They also take greater ownership of their learning.
Assessment
Which standards should schools and settings be using?
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori support te reo and pāngarau teaching and
learning across Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, and the National Standards support
literacy and numeracy teaching and learning across the New Zealand Curriculum.
Schools with both English medium and Māori medium settings are likely to be
using both Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and The New Zealand Curriculum. An
individual students’ learning plan will come under only one curriculum, not both.
Bilingual schools and settings will also need to decide which of the curricula will
set the direction for learning for their individual students.
Teachers of students that have their learning programmes based on Te
Marautanga o Aotearoa should be using Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori to plan
learning programmes and report students’ progress and achievement.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
Teachers of students that have their learning programmes based on the New
Zealand Curriculum should be using the National Standards to set the direction
for learning and reporting students’ progress and achievement.
How often do teachers judge progress and achievement in relation to
Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
The Ministry of Education has developed teacher guidelines outlining learning
progressions, which include descriptions of student progress and achievement
and are linked to the levels in Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
Many teachers and students already make regular judgments on progress based
on assessment. These ongoing informal and formal judgments will contribute to
overall teacher judgments made for the purpose of reporting to parents and
whānau, in writing, (at least) twice during the year, and for reporting school level
data in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori. For more see the
information on teacher guidelines.
What is an overall teacher judgment?
An overall teacher judgment is a judgment made about a student’s progress and
achievement in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori. An overall teacher
judgment should be based on the variety of evidence teachers already collect,
such as the student’s work, peer and self-assessment, everyday classroom
observation, and assessment activities both formal and informal. This involves
drawing on and applying the evidence gathered up to a particular point in time in
order to make an overall judgment about a student’s progress and achievement
in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
Putting the child and teacher judgment as a first step is important. It is not about
automatically assessing each child in the classroom in relation to Ngā
Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori for that year.
Most importantly, assessment should benefit the student, involve the student, be
suited to the student, be valid and fair and support their teaching and learning
goals.
Do teachers assess students at certain ages or at the same time as we do
currently?
No. Teachers are not expected to assess students at certain times because they
already assess their students throughout the year. NAG 2A requires teachers to
make an overall teacher judgment at least twice a year.
When is an overall teacher judgment made?
Overall teacher judgments need to be made for particular purposes, for example
for moderation, for reporting to parents and for reporting school level data.
The overall teacher judgments for reporting school level data must be made at
the end of students’ first, second and third years at school and then at the end of
each year for years 4-8.
How do teachers know their overall teacher judgment is valid and
reliable?
Teachers will make their overall teacher judgments using their knowledge and
observations of each student and suitable assessment information. Observations
and examples of student’s work are very important in forming overall teacher
judgments. We will guide you on aligning appropriate and accessible assessment
tools to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
At the same time, schools will be strengthening their moderation processes to
help teachers make these judgments collegially. By discussing their
interpretations and judgments in relation to the range of assessment evidence
with Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori teachers will build consistency in their
overall teacher judgments.
Do teachers have to compare students to their class/school/other
schools?
The only requirement is to assess students’ progress and achievement in relation
to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
Are teachers required to report on Te Reo Pākehā, the English language
learning area of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, in relation to the standards?
All kura and other Level 1 and 2 Māori medium settings are required to provide
programmes in Te Reo Pākehā. Teachers in these kura and settings are not
required to assess or report their children’s progress and achievement in relation
to the national standards. However, the national literacy standards for use in
English medium will provide useful information on students’ progress and
achievement in Te Reo Pākehā.
English language learners may also use the English language learning
progressions to report progress and achievement to parents and whānau. Material
to support Te Reo Pākehā will be available by mid 2011.
Students’ starting levels of achievement will vary, as will their progress. We will
expect the same long term outcome – for students to be poised to achieve at
NCEA Level 2.
What are level 1 and 2 immersion settings?
Levels 1 and 2 immersion settings are those in which more than half the teaching
and learning takes place in and through te reo Māori.
Level 1 programmes are 81–100 percent in and through te reo Māori
Level 2 programmes are 51–80 percent in and through te reo Māori
Will students with special education needs be assessed in relation to Ngā
Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori?
Most students with special education needs will be able to progress and achieve in
relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
A very small group of students with high and complex needs is supported through
the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS) or the Supplementary
Learning Support Service. These students are likely to learn long-term within
Level 1 of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Their progress will be assessed in relation
to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori as part of their individual education plans.
Boards of trustees will continue to report on these students separately in their
charters and annual reports.
What about students who transfer between schools part way through
their education?
When a new student starts a school, whether in a kura or Māori medium setting
or an English medium setting their previous report will show their progress and
achievement in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori or the National
Standards.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
This evidence helps the new teacher professionally judge the appropriate starting
place for this student.
Reporting
What reports do teachers give parents?
From February 2011, teachers will report to parents in writing, using plain
language, at least twice a year, about how their child is progressing and achieving
in relation to Te Marautanga o Aotearoa using Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori.
The National Assessment Guidelines (NAGs) require twice yearly reporting of both
progress and achievement. We encourage schools to report on:
•
The student’s current learning goals.
•
The student’s progress and achievement in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga
Rumaki Māori.
•
What the school and teacher will do to support the student’s learning.
•
What parents and whānau can do to support the child’s learning.
•
The student’s assessment results.
Is there a template that teachers have to use for reporting to parents?
As long as parents receive written reports of their child's progress and
achievement in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori in plain language, at
least twice a year, schools can develop their own reports, modify existing ones or
use templates provided by the Ministry of Education. School reports should reflect
what the school community wants.
There are some sample reporting graphs online [PDF; 644kb].
Are teachers going to get advice or examples of plain language reports
from the Ministry?
The Ministry of Education will publish examples on TKI during 2011.
Do teachers have to report on other areas of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
as well?
Schools must report to students and their parents on individual students’
progress and achievement across all areas of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
If a school already report to parents more than twice a year – should it
be doing less?
Reporting twice a year is a minimum requirement. Many schools report more
often than twice a year. Every school’s community is different and has different
needs. The most important thing is finding out what works for your community
and responding appropriately.
What will the Ministry do to educate students and parents about the
reports?
The Ministry’s Te Marautanga o Aotearoa website (www.tmoa.tki.org.nz) will have
information in plain language for parents on how Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki
Māori reporting works.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
Teachers and schools can also use this information for students, their parents and
whānau (link to whānau section of web) – by printing it or linking to it from the
school’s website, and by discussing it with them.
We recommend that school leaders and teachers talk to parents and whānau
about the reporting process to find what is most effective for your community,
and how they can support their child’s learning.
Most of our parents have English as their first language. Should schools
report to them in te reo Māori?
Reporting in plain language is part of the requirement. Many schools already ask
their parents and whānau which language they would prefer to receive their
child’s report in. So check with your community.
How can schools assist parents and whānau in understanding the report?
As required, schools will provide written reports to each student’s parents.
However, it is critical that all parents are clear about their child’s progress and
achievement and so conversation will help to clarify the report and plan how the
parent and school can help the student with the next learning steps. We want
schools to build excellent relationships with students and their parents and
whānau. Schools need to use a range of ways to communicate with their
communities.
What about those students who are not meeting Ngā Whanaketanga
Rumaki Māori year after year, yet making progress?
It is important that students, parents and whānau have a realistic understanding
of the student‘s progress and achievement and that the student stays motivated
to learn.
Reporting and celebrating progress is important, as is indicating the possibilities
of achieving higher levels in the future and what is needed to achieve them.
What about students who aren’t at school for significant periods of time,
for whatever reason?
Reports to parents and whānau should be very clear about any circumstances
which may have affected student performance. This includes prolonged absences.
Parents and whānau
What reports will parents and whānau get?
From January 2011, teachers are required to report to parents in writing, using
plain language, at least twice a year, about how your child is progressing and
achieving in relation to Te Marautanga o Aotearoa using Ngā Whanaketanga
Rumaki Māori.
We encourage schools to report on:
•
Your child’s current learning goals.
•
Your child’s progress and achievement in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga
Rumaki Māori.
•
What the school and teacher will do to support your child’s learning.
•
What parents and whānau can do to support your child’s learning.
•
Your child’s assessment results.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010
Is there a template that schools have to use for reporting to whānau?
Schools can develop their own reports, modify existing ones or use templates
provided by the Ministry of Education (provide link). School reports should reflect
what the school community wants.
Will whānau get a report on our child’s progress in all areas of Te
Marautanga o Aotearoa?
Schools must report to each child and their parents on the child’s progress and
achievement across all areas of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
Where can parents and whānau go to get information about the reports?
The Ministry’s website will have information in plain language for parents and
whānau on how Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori reporting works.
We recommend that parents and whānau, principals and teachers talk about the
reporting process to find what is most effective for your community, and how you
can support your child’s learning together.
Do schools have to report to whānau in te reo Māori?
Reporting in plain language is part of the requirement. Many schools already ask
their parents and whānau which language they would prefer to receive their
child’s report in. Boards, principals and teachers in consultation with the parents
and whānau will decide which language will be used in reports.
What assistance is there for whānau to understand the written reports?
As required, schools will provide written reports to each student’s parents. It is
important that every parent is clear about their child’s progress and achievement.
They can expect schools and teachers to work with them to ensure they
understand the content of the report.
For example, a conversation will help to clarify a child’s report and the plan for
how the parent and teacher can help the child with the next learning steps.
Excellent relationships between whānau, their children, and their children’s
teachers are important in supporting learning.
Schools need to use a range of ways to communicate effectively with their
communities. We recommend that parents and whānau, and principals and
teachers talk about the reporting process to find what is most effective.
Factsheet
Questions and answers
December 2010