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Download AudioThe Māori principal of Auckland Girls Grammar says low Māori and Pasifika pass rates reflect on the equity of new online tests.
Since May more than 55,000 students have sat the online tests for maths, reading and writing – and more than half of Maori students and even more Pasifika students failed all three.
That’s prompted calls for a rethink.
Ngaire Ashmore agrees and says Maori and Pasifika students having less access to devices, they may not function as well online, and they generally come from homes with fewer resources.
“I do not feel that it is because the students are not good enough to pass those literacy assessments. I think it is in the nature of the assessment and the conditions for which we’re being asked to deliver them,” she says.
Ms Ashmore says schools were not being advised by the Qualifications Authority about where students were failing, so they could address those issues.
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