Contact details:
Email : earu@otago.ac.nz  
Freephone 0800 808 561
Fax 64 3 479 8561

I te tau 2002, i haere tahi te aromatawai i tëtahi hunga äkonga tau 8 o roto i ngä kura reo Mäori, me te kaupapa aromatawai whänui a NEMP. Ko te whäinga matua o te aroturuki ä-motu, kia äta möhiotia ai he aha ngä mahi e taea ana e ä tätou tamariki. He matatini ngä ngohe aromatawai, arä, he rerekë te ähua, te huarahi tuku, me te taumata o ngä ngohe, ä, e arotahi ana ki te whänui o ngä pükenga me te mätauranga. Kei roto i te pürongo a NEMP Ngä Hua Aromatawai a ngä Äkonga Mäori 2002 – Te Whakarongo me te Mätakitaki, Te Tuhituhi,

Te Hauora me te Mätauranga Korikori ngä hua i puta ki ngä äkonga Mäori tau 8 o roto i ngä kura reo Mäori, o roto hoki i ngä kura reo Päkehä. Kua äta tirotirohia, kua wänangahia te pürongo e tëtahi kähui kaiako kaupapa Mäori e hono ana ki a NEMP. Kei tënei Whakaputanga Whakaaro te whakaräpopoto o tä rätou wänanga i te pürongo.

In conjunction with the 2002 assessment programme in general education, NEMP assessed a national sample of year 8 students in Mäori medium education. National monitoring focuses on what students know and can do. The tasks use a wide variety of formats and approaches. They are at various levels of complexity and cover a range of important skills.

The results for year 8 Mäori students in immersion education along with the results for year 8 Mäori students in general education are given in the NEMP report, Assessment Results for Mäori Students 2002 – Listening & Viewing, Writing, Health & Physical Education. The report has been considered by an invited forum of Mäori educators who have been associated with the Project. Their response to the report is given in this Forum Comment.

IMPORTANT NOTE RE TRANSLATION: Translations for each 'He Whakaputanga Whakaaro' and report are historic, reflecting the translation as at the time of printing. Variations in translation may therefore occur from one year to the next.

Introduction
The development of listening tasks for national monitoring presents major challenges in achieving task equivalency between English and Mäori. Unlike tasks presented in written formats, students have only one opportunity to understand the meaning of the listening text, and often one word can complicate comprehension for the whole text. The forum is strongly of the opinion that language discrepancies and inconsistencies were a major factor contributing to differences between students in both English and Mäori settings.

There were ten tasks in all. Mäori students in English medium scored significantly higher in all ten tasks. The majority of tasks required students to attend to at least two skills at a time, and most of these skills involved higher order thinking. Students had to employ a combination of skills at any one time (inference, critical thinking, analysis, synthesising information) in order to draw conclusions and evaluate information. As in English medium education, teachers in Mäori medium education aim to help students master such skills, bearing in mind that skill development depends on appropriate resourcing, continued professional support, and the explicit teaching of such skills.

Good news
On all except two of the ten tasks, more than 43 percent of Mäori medium students scored in the middle score category or higher. This indicates that there is a solid base to build upon. With continued emphasis on co-ordinated resourcing and attention to explicit teaching in specific areas, it seems reasonable to expect that students will continue to make gains.

Concerns
It is incumbent upon all involved in educating Mäori students to make a concerted effort to increase their ability to use higher order thinking skills. This applies equally for students in English medium and Mäori medium schools.

Looking ahead
Students need plenty of opportunities to practise listening skills, particularly those of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Teaching students vocabulary and the language structures to support technical concepts is crucial to developing understandings. Teachers need to model the skills, make explicit the criteria, and provide helpful feedback to students. Continued good practice of starting with contexts familiar to the students then providing concrete experiences for the less familiar contexts will provide a solid base.

There is a need to target listening skills as part of language acquisition across the curriculum.

Hei Whakatai
Ahakoa huri ki hea, kitea ai ngä momo karere ataata o te ao o näianei, ä, he mea nui kia mätau ä tätou tamariki ki tënei huarahi whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro. Ahakoa te ruarua o ngä rauemi reo Mäori mö te whakaako i ngä pükenga mätakitaki, he örite te ekenga paetae o ngä äkonga o roto i ngä kura reo Mäori ki ërä o ngä kura reo Päkehä.

Ngä Ähuatanga Pai
He ähua örite ngä hua i puta ki ngä äkonga o ngä momo kura e rua. He örite i roto i ngä ngohe aromatawai e 6. He teitei ake te taumata a te hunga äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori i roto i ngä ngohe e rua, ä, e rua anö ngä ngohe he teitei ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Päkehä.

He kaha ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori mënä he kaupapa Mäori i roto i te ngohe.

Ngä Take
Ahakoa te rite o ngä hua i riro i ngä äkonga o ngä momo kura e rua, he nui tonu ngä ähuatanga o te mätakitaki hei whakapakari. E tika ana kia mau i ngä äkonga ngä hanga reo me ngä kupu hei whakaputa whakaaro mö te ähua o te whakaaturanga e mätakihia ana. Me märama hoki ki te wairua o ngä momo horopaki, me te whakapakari anö i ngä pükenga arotake i te ähua o ngä momo whakaaturanga.

Te Tiro Whakamua
Me äta whakaako te reo whakamärama i te ähua o tëtahi whakaaturanga, e taea ai ngä körero o roto,
me te papätanga o te whakaaturanga te arotake. Arä:

• kia märama te äkonga ki te wairua o tëtahi whakaaturanga, kia ähei hoki ki te whakaputa körero mö taua wairua
• kia mau i te äkonga te reo whakaputa whakaaro mö te whaitake o tëtahi whakaaturanga
• kia ähei te äkonga ki te arohaehae, ki te arotake, ki te whakawä hoki

Me kötuitui te mätakitaki ki ngä marautanga me ngä kaupapa ako katoa o te kura, ä,
me arotahi ki ngä pükenga o te whakaaro höhonu, përä i te arotake me te tätari.

Introduction
Visual messages are prominent in today’s world and an important part of interpersonal communication. Given the paucity of material available in te reo Mäori for teaching visual language skills, the fact that Mäori medium students scored as well as their counterparts in English medium is admirable.

Good news
The performance of students in both settings was relatively even. They performed comparably on 6 of 10 tasks. Students in Mäori medium performed significantly better on two tasks as did Mäori students in English medium.

Students in Mäori medium did better when the task had Mäori cultural content.

Concerns
Notwithstanding the evenness of results, performance on these tasks indicates that there is room for significant improvement for Mäori students in both settings. Students require relevant language and language structures to discuss imagery. They have to understand ‘mood’ in its various contexts, and practice the necessary skills for evaluating images.

Looking ahead
The language of ‘imagery’ is necessary if students are to discuss its impact
and evaluate its messages. Students need:

• to understand and articulate what constitutes mood,
• the language to articulate effective images,
• the ability to discern, discriminate, and evaluate or make judgements.

It is important that viewing is an integral part of teaching programmes across the curriculum, focussing in particular on higher order thinking skills such as evaluating and analysing.

Ngä Ähuatanga Pai
He maha ngä ähuatanga pai o ngä hua i puta ki ngä äkonga Mäori mö te tuhituhi i te tau 2002.

Tekau mä ono katoa ngä ngohe tuhituhi, ä, he ähua örite te ekenga paetae o ngä äkonga Mäori o ngä momo kura e rua mö te 11 o ënei ngohe. He kaha ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori i roto i ngä ngohe e toru, ä, e rua ngä ngohe he kaha ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Päkehä.
He pai tonu te mahi a ngä äkonga i roto i ngä ngohe äta tütohu, äta raupapa hoki, përä i te tuhi reta, te tuhi käri poutäpeta, me te tuku i te tuhinga waea pükoro. He hua pai tënei mö te hunga äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori, ina he ruarua tonu ngä wähi e kitea ai ënei momo tuhinga i roto i te reo Mäori i waho atu i te kura.

Ko ngä momo tuhituhi e pai ana ki ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori, ko te tuhi reta, me te tuhi körero i roto i ëtahi atu o ngä marautanga. Ko tä te äkonga o ngä kura reo Päkehä i pai ai, ko te tuhi möteatea me te tuhi rätaka. He pai ki ngä röpü e rua te tuhi pakiwaitara, engari he ruarua ngä äkonga e huri ana ki te tuhituhi körero i waho atu i te kura. E ai ki ngä äkonga o ngä momo kura e rua, ko te mätau ki ngä tohutuhi, ko te tätaki kupu, ko te whakatika tuhituhi ëtahi ähuatanga matua o te mahi tuhituhi.

E ai ki ngä äkonga Mäori o ngä kura reo Päkehä, ko te tokonga whakaaro tëtahi ähuatanga o te kaituhi mätau tonu. E kaingäkau ana ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori ki te torotoro i ngä ähuatanga hou o te tuhituhi. He rawe te whakakitenga i te maha o ngä äkonga e whakamahi rorohiko ana i te käinga ki te tuhi pakiwaitara, ä, ko ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori ërä. He koanga ngäkau hoki te körero mai a ngä äkonga ko ö rätou mätua me ö rätou hoa te tino hunga hei pänui i ä rätou tuhinga.

Ngä Take
Ko te tohutohu me te whakawhere ngä momo tuhituhi i roto i ngä ngohe e toru i kaha ake ai ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori. E rua ngä ngohe mö te tuhi whakawhere i kaha ake ko ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Päkehä. He mea uaua ki ngä äkonga o ngä röpü e rua ko te tautohetohe me te parahau i tä rätou i tohe ai. Me äta whakapakari, me whakatenatena ënei momo pükenga reo.

Te Tiro Whakamua
Me äwhina ngä äkonga kia märama ki ngä ähuatanga ake, ngä kaupapa me ngä tümahi o te tuhituhi, ä, me whakapakari anö ko ngä pükenga e hängai ana. Ahakoa te pai o ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori ki te tautuhi i ngä möhiohio meka e hängai ana i roto i tëtahi tuhinga, käore rätou i äta whakamahi i ngä möhiohio meka kia märama, kia arotau ä rätou tuhinga mö tëtahi kaupapa.

Käore ngä äkonga i tino whakamahi i ngä tohutö i roto i ngä tuhituhinga i whakaaturia ki te pürongo. Me arotahi atu te hunga pouako ki tënei tikanga tuhi i roto i ngä akoranga, ä, me kötuitui anö ki ngä akoranga e pä ana ki te tätaki kupu, te tohutuhi, me te wetereo.

Kia maha tonu ngä mahi torotoro i ngä momo tuhinga me ngä kaupapa o ngä momo tuhinga, kia whai wähi anö ki te hopu i ngä tauira tuhituhi a te pouako, me te whakapakari anö i ngä pükenga tuhituhi e hängai ana. E tika ana kia whakahokia he körero ki te äkonga, e hängai pü ana ki ngä paearu o ngä tuhinga, ä, kia maha hoki ngä wä ka tukuna ngä tuhinga hei pänui mä ëtahi atu.

Good news
The 2002 assessment results for Mäori students have a number of positive aspects.

Students in English medium and Mäori medium performed comparably across 11 of 16 tasks. Mäori medium students performed significantly better on three of the tasks. Likewise, Mäori students in English medium performed better on two.

Both groups of students performed well on tasks that were prescriptive and structured in nature – letter writing, postcards, text messaging, and a structured writing process. This is a positive result considering that Mäori medium students have fewer opportunities to view such text in Mäori outside of the school setting.

At school, Mäori medium students enjoyed writing letters and writing in other curriculum areas. Mäori in English medium preferred writing poems and keeping a diary. Both groups got equal satisfaction from writing stories. In both settings, fewer students chose to write in their own time.

It is interesting to note that both groups of students identify mastery of punctuation, spelling and editing as necessary to the writing process.
Mäori students in English medium think a good writer uses their imagination. Mäori medium students regarded trying out new things as highly valuable. It is positive to see that a substantial number of students use a computer at home to write stories, particularly Mäori medium students. It is heartening that students see their parents and friends as important audiences for their writing.

Concerns
The three tasks Mäori medium students did better on involved writing instructions and persuasive writing. Mäori students in English medium did better on two tasks involving persuasion. Both groups of students had difficulty in making strong arguments and justifying their stance. Their skills and the associated language competencies in these areas need much encouragement and development.

Looking ahead
Students need to be helped to recognise and understand the features, purposes and functions of text and to have opportunities to practise the associated skills. Although Mäori medium students identified factual and relevant information, they ignored using the factual detail to provide a clear and logical account of an event.

The forum noted the consistent omission of macrons in the examples tudents’ writing shown in the NEMP report. This needs to be taken into account during instruction, and incorporated into the teaching of conventions of writing – spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Students need plenty of opportunities to explore different forms and purposes of writing, to observe teacher modelling, and to practise the necessary skills. They also need to receive specific feedback on criteria, and frequent opportunities to share their writing with others.

Ngä Ähuatanga Pai
Ko ngä hua i puta ki ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori i te tau 2002, ngä hua teitei rawa atu mai i te wä i tïmata ai ngä mahi aromatawai i roto i ngä kura reo Mäori. He tino përä ngä hua i puta mö ngä ngohe hauora. E 28 katoa ngä ngohe hauora. I roto i ngä ngohe 19, he örite te ekenga paetae a ngä äkonga o ngä momo kura e rua. He teitei ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori mö ëtahi ngohe e 8.

I roto i ngä urupare a ngä äkonga, e tino kitea ana te ngäkau pai o te äkonga Mäori ki te noho tahi o te hapori. He kaha ngä äkonga i roto i ngä ngohe e hono ana ki ö rätou wheako whaiaro, me ngä ngohe e whakaata mai ana i ngä uara a te Mäori. He kaha te kitea mai o te ngäkau whakawhanaunga o ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori. Ka whakamäramahia ngä momo rautaki përä i te äwhina ä-ringa, te körerorero, te whakatenatena hei äwhina i tëtahi atu tangata ki te kawe i ngä mätätaki ka tau ki a ia. Mö ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori, käore i te përä rawa te wehe mai o te kura me te te käinga.

He koanga ngäkau te kitea o ngä uara me ngä ähuatanga matua e tino whäia ana e ngä kura reo Mäori e whakaatatia ana i roto i ngä hua i puta mö ngä ngohe hauora.

Ngä Take
Ko te hauora me te oranga kiritahi te wähi hei whakapakari ake, nö reira koirä te kaupapa hei whakauru ki ngä akoranga.

Arä ëtahi äkonga, he poto, he päpaku ngä whakahokinga körero, käore i äta tutuki te whakawhitiwhiti mai i ö rätou whakaaro. He iti tonu te puna kupu a ëtahi äkonga tokomaha, e tutuki pai ai te whakamärama i ngä wähanga o roto i tëtahi kaupapa. Käore hoki i tino eke te äkonga mënä kotahi anake te take, te whakamärama ränei i roto i tana whakautu.

Te Tiro Whakamua
Me äta whakaako ngä kupu me ngä hanga reo e hängai pü ana ki ngä kaupapa hauora. Mä konei e pakari ai ngä pükenga whakamärama, ngä pükenga parahau me ngä pükenga tätari. Mä te pouako tonu e whakatauira, ä, kia maha hoki ngä horopaki hei urupare mä te äkonga i ngä momo pätai huhua. Ina pakari haere te reo Päkehä, te reo Mäori ränei o te äkonga, me whakatenatena kia whakawhänui i äna urupare, kia kapi katoa ngä taipitopito o te kaupapa.

E tino whakamahia ana ngä momo pätai tuwhera i roto i ngä äkoranga whaihua, ä, me ako kia whänui tonu te urupare a te äkonga. Mä konei e pakari ai te äkonga i roto i äna whakawhitiwhitinga, ä, ka whaimana anö ki töna ao. He mea nui kia whai wähi atu te äkonga ki ngä momo ngohe pähekoheko e whakawhitia ai he whakaaro höhonu, hei whakapiki anö i tana ako i roto i te hauora.

Me tïmata tonu ngä akoranga ki nga horopaki e taunga ana ngä äkonga, ä, kia whai wheako ä-tinana ki ngä horopaki käore e taunga ana, me te arotahi anö ki ngä pükenga parahau me nga pükenga arotake.

Good news
Mäori assessment in 2002 marks the highest level of achievement measured for Mäori medium students since NEMP began working in the medium of Mäori language. In health tasks, the level of success is particularly high. Mäori students in both Mäori and English medium settings performed equally well on 19 of the 28 health tasks. Mäori medium students achieved statistically significantly higher on a further 8 tasks.

Responses demonstrate the importance to Mäori students of social responsibility. Students performed well in tasks where they could relate the context to their personal experiences. Tasks presented in a manner promoting the reflection of cultural values also yielded positive results.

For Mäori medium students in particular, a strong sense of community was evident in their responses to tasks. Strategies described involved the use of practical solutions, such as hands-on assistance, talking and encouragement to help others cope with challenges. The boundaries between the family and the school setting appeared less rigid for Mäori medium students than Mäori students in English medium.

It is pleasing to note that priorities valued and emphasised in Mäori medium schooling are reflected in a number of the tasks in which they performed well.

Concerns
Results from this year’s health tasks suggest that in the area of maintaining and enhancing personal health and well-being, more direct teaching is required.

Students whose responses were limited to short, basic phrases were unable to communicate their thinking effectively. Students frequently lacked the vocabulary to express themselves clearly in tasks where specific knowledge of procedures or explanation of stages was required. Similarly, those who could give only one reason or possible explanation for a situation were unable to score highly.

Looking ahead
Active teaching of the language structures and vocabulary directly related to health topics is needed. This in turn will support the skill of explanation, justification and reasoning. With teacher modelling, students need considerable opportunity to practise responding to a wide variety of question types. Planning is also needed to ensure that as students develop competency in te reo Mäori and te reo Päkeha, they are continually encouraged and challenged to extend and give detail in their responses.

Just as good teaching practice ensures that students are exposed to open-ended questioning, students also need to learn to consider and express a range of possible options in their responses. In this way, students develop increasing power to interact with, and have control over their environment. Quality teaching and learning experiences that offer rich opportunities for learners to engage in tasks and which value the sharing of elaborate, in-depth understandings about content, are seen as paramount in supporting Mäori students in health / te hauora.

Teachers should continue the good practice of starting with contexts familiar to the students, then providing concrete experiences for the less familiar contexts while focussing on skills leading to justification and evaluation.

Ngä Ähuatanga Pai
He ähua örite te ekenga paetae o ngä äkonga Mäori o ngä kura reo Mäori me ngä kura reo Päkehä. Tekau mä ono katoa ngä ngohe, ä, käore i tino rerekë atu ngä momo kura e rua i roto i ngä ngohe 13. He kaha ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Mäori i ëtahi ngohe e rua, kotahi te ngohe he kaha ake ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Päkehä.

Te Tiro Whakamua
I tino kitea ngä pümanawa me ngä pükenga o ngä äkonga Mäori o ngä momo kura e rua ki te mätauranga korikori. Äkene pea ko te kaha o ngä äkonga Mäori i konei hei tüäpapa mö te whakapiki i ngä pükenga ki ëtahi atu o ngä marautanga. Hei tauira, ko te tuhi kauwhata hei whakaatu i te hoto manawa (te pängarau); ko te tuhi pürongo mö tëtahi tauwhäinga häkinakina (te tuhituhi).

Good news
The performance of Mäori students in both Mäori medium and English medium settings was generally even. They performed comparably on 13 of 16 tasks. Mäori medium students performed better on two tasks while Mäori students in English medium did better on one of the tasks.

Looking ahead
Mäori students in both Mäori medium and English medium settings show particular skills and talents in physical education. These abilities and interests offer opportunities for progressing students’ skills in other areas of the curriculum. For example, graphing pulse rates as part of fitness activities (mathematics); writing a newsletter report on a games event (writing).

Nö te tau 1999 i tïmata ai te mahi aromatawai a Te Kaupapa Aroturuki Mätauranga ä-Motu (NEMP) i ngä äkonga o roto i ngä kura reo Maori. Koia nei te tau tuawhä e uru ana rätou ki tënei kaupapa. He mahi höpara tonu te aromatawai a NEMP i roto i ngä kura reo Mäori, ä, ko tëtahi whäinga matua kia örite te taumata o te reo Mäori e whakamahia ana i roto i ngä ngohe aromatawai ki tö te reo Päkehä. E tautoko tonu ana te Kähui Whakawhitiwhiti Körero i te ähua o te mahi aromatawai a NEMP, me töna wähi ki te whakapiki i te ekenga paetae o te tamariki Mäori.

Ko te mahi whakamäori i ngä ngohe aromatawai tëtahi mätätaki nui, kia örite te taumata o te reo, kia örite te körero o roto, ä, kia märama tonu ä tätou tamariki ki ngä tohutohu me te puku o ngä mahi. Ko te whakawhänui i te kete kupu motuhake a te äkonga mö ia marautanga, mö ia kaupapa ako tëtahi ähuatanga nui, ina he iti noa iho ngä mahi whakawhanake kötuitui i ënei tümomo kupu. Nä runga i tënei ähuatanga, e whakamahia ana te reo whakawhitiwhiti körero o ia rä hei whakatutuki i te reo mätauranga, e whai ana ränei i te reo marautanga kua tipu mai i tënä whärua, i tënä kokoru, i tënä käinga puta noa i te motu. He mea uaua tonu tënei ähuatanga mö tëtahi kaupapa aromatawai ä-motu. He äwhina nui mënä ka whakakotahia ngä kupu motuhake o te marautanga ä-motu.

E ai ki ngä rangahau, kia rima tau rä anö te tamaiti e whakaakona ana ki tëtahi reo, kätahi ka tika te aromatawai i a ia ki taua reo. Nö reira i tonoa ngä kura reo Mäori kia whiriwhiri i ngä äkonga kua rima tau e whakaakona ana ki te reo Mäori. Ahakoa tënei, kei reira tonu ngä raruraru, ina ko te kura anake te puna reo Mäori mö te nuinga o ä tätou tamariki. He ruarua noa iho ngä wähi reo Mäori i waho atu i te kura hei puna whängai i ngä taringa me ngä hinengaro o ngä tamariki. Käore i te përä mö te reo Päkehä. Äpiti atu ki tënei, i ëtahi kura, he whänui tonu te matatau o ngä äkonga o te akomanga kotahi, he përä anö hoki te reo o te hunga pouako.

Käore e ärikarika ngä mätätaki kei mua i te hunga e whai ana kia eke ö tätou kura i ngä taumata tiketike, kia nui ake hoki ngä hua ka puta ki ä tätou tamariki. Koinei te ähua o tënei momo kaupapa aromatawai e para nei i te huarahi kia arotahi atu ki ngä mahi e taea ana e ngä äkonga me ngä mätauranga kua mau i a rätou, kaua ki ngä ähuatanga takarepa, ki ngä ngoikore ränei o ngä äkonga Mäori, ahakoa e ako ana i te kura reo Mäori, kura reo Päkehä ränei.

Nä runga i ënei take kua körerohia nei, me äta whakaaro, me äta tüpato ki ngä whakatairitenga o ngä äkonga o ngä kura reo Pakehä, me nga äkonga o roto i ngä kura reo Mäori.

E tika ana kia whakanuia ngä hua maha i puta i te kaupapa aromatawai nei i tënei tau, arä, ko ngä hua e pä ana ki te tuhituhi, ki te hauora me te mätauranga korikori. Kei reira anö hoki ëtahi ähuatanga o ngä kura reo Päkehä me nga kura reo Mäori me whakapiki ake, kia pai ake ai te ako o ä tätou tamariki.

Ngä Take Rauemi
Me matua whai tonu ngä kaupapa nei:

• Kia haere tonu te mahi whakaputa rauemi hei tautoko i ngä marautanga, me te whakatü anö i ngä kaupapa whakapakari pouako i te taha
• Kia pakari anö te taura e hono ana i ngä tari käwanatanga, e nui ake ai te whai wähitanga atu o ngä tamariki ki te reo Maori me ngä momo rauemi reo Mäori, përä i te reo irirangi me te pouaka whakaata

Mäori medium students first entered the National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) in 1999. This is their fourth year in the project. Assessment in Mäori medium is still very much exploratory, and although improvements in language equivalency continue, achieving a better match is a crucial goal. The forum members remain supportive of the NEMP approach to national assessment and the contribution it makes to improving the achievement of Mäori students.

The task of translating instructions and materials from English to Mäori will always present very considerable challenges to translators. The matching of language, and in particular the language used for instructions, to language commonly used in classrooms is particularly challenging. Technical terminology and the corresponding language for developing technical concepts can be the most challenging of all for those in Mäori medium. The forum is mindful that there has been very little coordinated development of te reo Mäori with regard to the technical register required for each curriculum area. This has resulted in either the use of the everyday communicative language for academic purposes, or local development of language, both of which give rise to difficulties for national assessment. In Mäori medium, the standardisation of technical language and usage across the curriculum is a step in the right direction.

Research shows that students should have at least five years in the target language before administering assessment. Hence those in Mäori medium are asked to identify students who meet this criterion. Notwithstanding, this remains problematic since the school is the main source of language development in Mäori medium. Unlike English medium, there is often limited exposure to te reo outside of the school environment for many students. An additional complication is the range of language proficiency of students, and in many instances the language proficiency of teachers.

One cannot underestimate the challenges of building capacity in schools and maximising the effectiveness of existing human and material resources in Mäori medium schools. This is the reality of engaging in cutting edge work in assessment which focuses on what Mäori students know and can do, as opposed to a deficit model, regardless of whether the students are in Mäori or English medium schools.

Because of the issues we have outlined, the interpretation of comparisons between Mäori students in English medium, and Mäori students in Mäori medium, should be treated cautiously.

There is much to celebrate about the results, particularly in writing, and health and physical education, yet there are also a number of areas in both education settings for improvement of our Mäori students’ learning.

Resourcing Considerations
Continuation of the following goals is crucial:

• On-going production and timely dissemination of resources to support curriculum documents; with resourcing and professional development occurring concurrently
• Establishing strong links between and across government agencies to access more resources e.g. television and radio