ACT says it wants league tables for schools to hold them accountable and to end what it suggests is curriculum "indoctrination," if it's part of the next government.
The party has just announced its new education policy, which it says targets a "freefalling" education system and a school attendance "crisis".
Other pledges include introducing a live attendance "traffic light system," changing the way the education curriculum is set, replacing NCEA level three, and enforcing standardised testing across schools.
Polling has generally shown ACT would be an essential part of any potential coalition that Christopher Luxon could need to form a National government after the election.
Party leader David Seymour said: "The education system makes it almost impossible for parents to track whether their kids are learning and achieving at the level they ought to be at.
"As a result, some students are leaving the compulsory schooling system without the basic literacy and numeracy skills needed to thrive in society."
Seymour said the online league tables would be modelled on Australia's "My School" tool and "help parents understand how their school is performing compared with [others]."
On curriculum reform, he said ACT would change how school curriculums are written.
US education journalist Emily Hanford speaks to Q+A about her research into the so-called "reading wars." (Source: Q and A)
Seymour said: "Students are not consistently being taught the knowledge and skills that parents and future employers would expect.
"Using the curriculum as a highly politicised tool for indoctrination, or radically changing the curriculum every time there is a change in government, is unlikely to improve the quality of education."
Seymour said ACT would "put an end to," what he described as "the 'curriculum wars'".
The party's policy document read: "Rather than simply rewriting Labour's version of the curriculum — and to avoid doubt, this needs to be done — ACT would reform the Ministry of Education’s role to that of curriculum approver, rather than curriculum writer."
As a result, schools would be able to choose different curriculums under ACT's plan.
"The Ministry of Education would be required to approve curriculums based on a set of criteria that have been designed to ensure international best-practice and some consistency between schools," Seymour said.
"Some New Zealand schools are already adopting alternatives to the national curriculum, by offering the Cambridge curriculum at primary level.
"ACT's policy simply expands the options available to schools who are wanting to offer a quality, evidence-based, local curriculum."
The party's policy document stated ACT believes the history curriculum "pushes a narrow set of highly political stories from our past" and it questioned the inclusion of mātauranga Māori in the curriculum.
National's education spokesperson joins Q+A to discuss her party's plans to reform the primary school curriculum if elected this year. (Source: 1News)
"Mātauranga Māori can be incorporated into a curriculum, or not, but it needs to be done in a coherent manner that meets evidence-based standards," ACT's policy read.
"Financial literacy could be included as a standalone topic but curriculum writers could also make the case that another subject deserves higher priority.
"Inherently diverse topics such as history will not have government-imposed value judgements attached to the curriculum. And if parents are dissatisfied with the curriculum their school teaches, they can move to a school that offers a better fit."
ACT also wants to redirect funding from the Education Ministry's centrally-controlled attendance services, so "schools can fund or purchase services directly." A new "traffic light system" would also "entail additional accountabilities for schools and parents".
"ACT will require every school in New Zealand to fill out an electronic attendance register accessible by the Ministry of Education," Seymour said.
A social studies teacher’s alleged Māori land ownership comments is one incident that is causing unease. (Source: 1News)
"The data from the electronic register will be used to publicly report on a real-time traffic light system and will entail additional accountabilities for schools and parents."
On University Entrance, Seymour said: "NCEA has become an increasingly meaningless qualification for both employers and tertiary institutions.
"It also fails to set students up for a range of options once they leave if high school. ACT would raise the literacy and numeracy standards that students need to gain and end the confusion between NCEA level three and University Entrance by aligning the standards."
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