19 Dec 2017

Weak parental support for national standards - survey

11:00 am on 19 December 2017

Fewer than half of parents support the national standards in reading, writing and maths - and only five percent consider the controversial benchmarks when choosing a school for their children.

University or secondary school students study in a classroom.

Photo: 123RF

The findings - from the Council for Educational Research national survey of primary and intermediate schools - were published just a week after the government announced the demise of the standards.

The survey report said only 46 percent of the 504 respondents - who had children at 31 schools - agreed they supported the national standards, while 35 percent were neutral or unsure and 18 percent disagreed.

Sixty-two percent of the parents agreed they had a good understanding of the standards, 24 percent were unsure and more than 10 percent disagreed.

About 85 percent said they got clear information about their child's achievement in the national standards in reading, writing and maths, and about their progress through the year.

The survey found 54 percent of the respondents sent their child to a school because their older children or the children of family or friends attended the school.

Fifty-four percent said their choice of school was influenced by attending a school open day, 15 percent said they considered review office reports and only five percent said results in the national standards in reading, writing and maths influenced their decision.

Ninety percent of respondents said their child attended their first-choice of school and two-thirds of respondents sent their child to their nearest primary or intermediate school.

More than half of respondents said they had participated in a school trip or fund-raising event and 62 percent had attended a sports event, up from 39 percent in 2013.

Ninety percent of respondents were happy with their child's school, said their child felt safe at school and enjoyed going to school.

Eighty-three percent of parents said cost was not an issue for their school.

The national survey was conducted in late 2016 and is run every three years.

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