“Minister, in our view the flaws in the new system are so serious that full implementation of the intended national standards system over the next three years is unlikely to be successful.  It will not achieve intended goals and is lilely to lead to dangerous side effects.”

So stated the four leading academics, John Hattie, Terry Crooks, Lester Flockton and Martin Thrupp, in their open letter to Anne Tolley, the Minister of Education, in November 2009.  As we approach the second anniversary of the publication of this letter, it is timely to reflect on the journey so far.   What is the true state of educational achievement in New Zealand?  How was the National Standards policy supposed to change this pattern of achievement?  Why did the academics feel that the system designed by the Ministry was “seriously flawed”?  How successful has the implementation been?  What do principals, teachers and parents really think about National Standards?  What opposition to the policy and the supporting system has arisen during the past three years?  What are the dangerous side effects that the academics warned about in their letter and are they right to be so worried?

Each of these questions will be examined in a series of articles to be published over the next month.