Figure 1.--Fairly measuring academic achievement may be one of the most difficult tasks of modern education.
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Figure 1.--Fairly measuring academic achievement may be one of the most difficult tasks of modern education. |
New Zealand educators are reassessing traditional measures of academic achievement. Achievement Bases ??? Assessment (ABA) appears to be in vogue among educators. This approach would assess achievement on the basis of individual goals based in part on the student's abilities. Some teachers, however, question this approach and wonder in a competitive world if students should not be measured against objective standards. One teacher, for example, asks, "Does the school charter not give prominence to excellence?"
Opinions vary on the attributes of streaming, grouping students by academic ability. Much of the opposition to streaming is ideological rather than based on the educational benefits. Such considerations, however are important in an egalitarian country like New Zealand. Different schools pursue a wide variety of accademic approaches. Streaming is widely used in New Zealand schools--mostly at secondary schools. Not all schools stram by ability, but many do. Schools also vary in how they stream schools. Some, for examole, only stream the older students. Others stream junior classes, although some schools do not stream all students.
New Zealand schools offer a wide range pf academic programs. There are different approaches from school to school. In addition, streaming within a school offer a range of different academic programs. Representative schools provide brief descriptions of their academic programs.
We are proud of the academic achievements of Wanganui Collegiate School's students. They consistently compare very favourably with New Zealand's other leading secondary schools, both independent and state. Each year almost 100 percent of our Year 13 students qualify for university. Our students receive a thorough grounding in the basic compulsory curriculum. A wide range of additional subjects is also available to all students, with specialist teachers offering a variety of skills to students at each level of the School. Staff make effort to ensure that students are able to timetable their chosen combination of subjects. Collegiate teaching staff (known collectively as the Common Room) have a commitment to their students going well beyond the normal call of duty. We choose staff who are prepared to put extra effort into getting the best from each student, whatever his or her ability. Small class sizes enable teachers to devote attention to individual students. An average Year 12 or 13 class has 17 students; Year 11 classes average 18. For junior forms 25 is considered a maximum, but 22 has been the average in recent years.
New Schools believe that children should be able to fully develop their potential. Many schools have initiated programs to cater for the special needs of certain groups of students--the able and those who have more difficulty with academic study.
In order to develop the habit of individual effort, most schools require an reasonable amount of homework of all students. It is not
intended that homework should be burdensome to the student but to be of value it should be regular. Parents are incouraged to assist, first by seeing that some quiet place is provided where their children can work undisturbed, and secondly by insisting on the regularity of the work. Schools recommend that parents simply not accept the statement that the student has no homework, for students can profitably occupy any spare time by summarising sections of their work or by reading. on the rare days where there may be no specific assignments.
Generally New Zealand's private schools report the best academic results. Here the family background of the students plays a major role. The tend to come from affluent or at least families with coimfortable circumstances that place considerable value on education and insist that their children due the same. Children in state schools come from a wider cross section of society. The academic program of smaller class sizes and more individual attention are also important factors. There are of course wide differences among schools. Auckland's Boys' Grammar for example is a state school, but consistently achieves impressive results. While private schools on average achieve the best results. Many individuals from the state schools also achieve impressive academic results.
