Mount Aspiring College (MAC) has received its first profile report from the Education Review Office (ERO) since a 2019 report identifying it as a ‘developing’ school sparked a raft of changes. 

The latest report, which was made public in August this year, was written by ERO review and improvement services director Dr Lesley Patterson. 

ERO no longer ranks schools on a four-step continuum between ‘needs development’, ‘developing,’ ‘well placed’ and ‘strong’. Instead it highlights strategic outcomes at a school, issues ERO and the school are working together on, what the school expects to see, its strengths, and poses the question ‘what next?’.

The report highlights issues around literacy levels at MAC.

“Since the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic, achievement information indicates that there are increasing gaps in literacy skills and disparity between boys and girls,” Lesley said in the report.

“A growing percentage of learners in Years 7-9 are two curriculum sub-levels below their expected levels.”

Lesley said ERO and the school are working together on the school-wide focus on improving students’ literacy skills. 

MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen told the Wānaka App the pandemic, which forced periodic closures of the school and a shift to online classes, had affected some students’ progress.

Focusing on literacy will help prepare learners to reach their potential in the senior school and beyond, MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen said.

“It is about the disruption to learning, and that for some students, connecting back into the routine of being at school has not been straightforward.”

Nicola said she didn’t believe the literacy levels among the Year 7-9 age group had fallen behind significantly.

“...with this age group we have the ability to be more responsive to needs as we can be more flexible for students.”

Regarding the increasing literacy gaps between boys and girls, Nicola said school data shows the two groups perform fairly similarly in reading comprehension but not writing.

“....there is a disparity when it comes to writing. I attribute this to a range of things - methods of assessment [and] being ready for the assessment.”

As part of ERO’s new model for working with schools, MAC has also been assigned a school relationship manager, Mike Fowler, who is working with the school on its improvement processes.

The report identifies increasing gaps in literacy skills between girls and boys, ERO said.

The school is taking steps to improve literacy with support and training for both teachers and students, Lesley said, pointing to a series of school priorities linked to literacy.

Nicola said examples included teachers’ use of the NZ Teacher Council-endorsed ‘inquiring process’. 

“Each teacher has presented to staff on how they have focused on literacy skills this year, the difference it has made for their students, and what their next steps will be,” she said. “It has been excellent professional sharing and conversation.” 

“For students we run a number of programmes to help accelerate students in terms of their literacy skills.”

The strong focus on literacy skills is critical for students, Nicola said, especially with changes to the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) model which will be in force by 2024. 

Students can currently gain literacy and numeracy credits for NCEA by students’ completing achievement and unit standards through both internal and external assessments. By 2024 there will be a corequisite of three stand-alone, online tests measuring reading, writing, and numeracy. 

“By focusing on improving literacy skills and developing learner agency, the school can prepare learners to reach their potential in the senior school and beyond,” Nicola said.

ERO will help the school report its progress on priorities to the community, Lesley said.

The ERO compliance reports for MAC - which include a hostel report and a board assurance with regulatory and legislative requirements report - show that all requirements are currently being met by the school.

Read the full ERO profile report here.

PHOTOS: MAC