Kia ora koutou,

On Monday night, we held our Board of Trustees meeting and reviewed the school-wide mid-year data. The curriculum expectations are set for end-of-year achievement, so the mid-year data serves as a prediction of whether our tamariki are 'on track' to meet those expectations. This prediction is based on their current achievement within the New Zealand Curriculum and the progress they are making with their learning.

Here is a snapshot of our Mid-year data…

Reading 87% of children are predicted to meet or exceed the end-of-year expectation 

• 10% currently are expected to exceed the end-of-year expectation. 
• 77% are on track to succeed
• 10% are being monitored as there is a chance they will not meet the end-of-year expectations
• 2% require intervention and are unlikely to meet the End of Year's expectations. 

Writing 78% of children are predicted to meet or exceed the end-of-year expectation 

• 4% currently are expected to exceed the end-of-year expectation. 
• 74% are on track to succeed
• 16% are being monitored as there is a chance they will not meet the end-of-year expectations
• 6% require intervention and are unlikely to meet the End of Year's expectations. 

Mathematics 81% of children are predicted to meet or exceed the end-of-year expectation 

• 8% currently are expected to exceed the end-of-year expectation. 
• 73% are on track to succeed
• 13% are being monitored as there is a chance they will not meet the end-of-year expectations
• 6% require intervention and are unlikely to meet the End of Year's expectations. 

Overall General Statements

• Reading shows the highest overall performance with the highest percentage of children meeting or exceeding expectations (87%) and the least requiring intervention (2%).
• Mathematics has a strong performance with 81% meeting or exceeding expectations but has the same intervention requirement as writing (6%).
• Writing has the lowest percentage of children meeting or exceeding expectations (78%) and the highest need for monitoring (16%) and intervention (6%).
• Maaori Students' academic performance is consistent with the overall school data, reflecting similar trends across reading, writing, and mathematics.

How are we tracking towards our Writing 2024 Targets? 

• 80% of Year 2’s achieving At or Above in Writing 
• We are on track to meet this target with 89% (32/36) of our Year 2’s considered to be on track to succeed.
• 83% of Year 5’s achieving At or Above in Writing
• Currently, 77% (18/30) are considered to be on track to succeed or exceed the NZC Expectations.
• 17% (5/30) are being monitored. 
• 83% of Year 7’s achieving At or Above in Writing
• Currently, 79% (22/28) are considered to be on track to succeed or exceed the NZC Expectations.
• 14% (4/28) are being monitored. 
  
• 75% of Year 8’s achieving At or Above in Writing
• We are on track to meet this target with 77% (14/18) of our Year 8’s considered to be on track to succeed.
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Our school maintains an Intervention Register to monitor students who are identified as needing support or who require close monitoring. This system tracks their progress over time and records the interventions we've implemented for those at risk of not meeting end-of-year expectations. Interventions may include small group sessions with our Learning Support Coordinator, programmes run by support staff, assistance from outside agencies such as Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLBs), Reading Recovery, and in-class support from teacher aides. Teachers also have Target Action Plans in which they focus on a group of target learners and work collaboratively to brainstorm the most effective teaching strategies for them. Throughout the year, we aim to regularly connect with parents of children who we have identified as needing additional support and aim to work in partnership with whaanau with a student-centred approach.

Recently, you may have heard concerning reports from the government stating that only 22% of Year 8 students in 2023 were achieving in Mathematics. This puzzled many principals, myself included, as our Year 8 data in 2023 painted quite the opposite picture. 

The data presented in the media needs context. The National Monitoring of Student Achievement (NMSA) assesses a sample group of Year 8, with approximately 800 students and this study has been conducted for over ten years. The recent drop in reported achievement is due to these results being benchmarked against the yet-to-be-published Refreshed Curriculum Learning Progressions, rather than indicating a sudden decline in student performance. 

As Dr. Charles Darr, a study lead, explained, "What we are seeing in mathematics is a change in curriculum benchmarking, rather than a change in achievement."

Our current curriculum, published in 2007, includes curriculum levels with broad achievement objectives and curriculum levels can span over more than one year. The new Curriculum is set to have learning progressions for each year group. We are eagerly awaiting the refreshed curriculum, which once we see it we will reflect on what this means for our planning, teaching and learning, assessment, and reporting. While the implementation timeframe could be short, we will keep you informed. Rest assured, we won’t be discarding what works; we know our learners well and are continuously evaluating the impact of our teaching on student achievement.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your week,

Ngaa mihi,

Nyree Olliver