Peck Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peck Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:610;Page:7348] 
5.  
MARK PECK (NZ Labour—Invercargill) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What is the Government doing to improve the achievement levels of all students at school? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 The Government is committed to focusing on quality teaching as a key to lifting students’ achievement. I have today released best-evidence research that will be an important resource for teachers as it shows what actually works for students and makes a difference to learning. The project brings together research from within New Zealand and to a limited extent internationally all of which is based on measured improvements in student outcomes rather than on particular ideological or theoretical models. 
Mark Peck 
: What is the key finding from that research? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The best-evidence research shows that within the education system the quality of teaching in an individual classroom as opposed to between schools or to factors such as curriculum resources or the environment is what makes the most difference. We currently spend about $120 million a year on a wide variety of professional development and advisory services. We are now analysing that expenditure with the aim of realigning it with the research so that it reinforces what we now know makes a real difference for students. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: What is the use of all the quality teaching in schools if thousands of our students are not there and the Government has frozen funding for the Truancy Service not prosecuted a single parent despite over 4400 having been reported to the truancy service and now missed two deadlines on reports that were to provide for a proper tracking system for students? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: One of the things that this Government learns—and just watching people in the Opposition shows us—is that turning up is not enough. Engagement is important. That member’s ideological approach to teacher education and to in-service education made a mess of the system and as a result of that student engagement in New Zealand is a lot poorer than it should be. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: What is the Government doing to enhance the achievement levels of school-age children who are not in school attendance because of bunking condoned absences and non-enrolment; or is the Minister happy simply to leave it up to the police to round those students up? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: In fact one of the best projects that is occurring in New Zealand—with quite a lot of resource and led by my other ministry the State Services Commission—has the police as the lead agency. That is the circuit-breaker team in Rotorua which has shown enormous success in getting kids back to school. I do not want them back at school just for the sake of being at school; I want them there to learn. That is what this research is about. 
Bernie Ogilvy 
: In the light of the fact that attendance is absolutely essential to student achievement why is the establishment of a national database to track children’s attendance at school not expected to be piloted until 2005 when it was part of Labour’s manifesto for the 1996 1999 and 2002 elections? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I think I might have to take advice on that question but my understanding is that in fact it was not part of the 2002 pre-election policy. One of the things we learnt in Government was that setting up massive computer systems without knowledge of how they were going to be used is not the best approach.