Many Otago principals believe the changes proposed in the Education Amendment Bill are a fait accompli and are already celebrating the removal of "a decade of data addiction".
The Bill has had its first reading but it still has to go through a select committee, a second reading, the committee of whole House, and a third reading before it receives Royal Assent.
Despite the process, the Ministry of Education has informed schools they no longer need to submit National Standards data.
A ministry spokeswoman said the change would better acknowledge the different ways and pace at which children learn, and support teachers to provide more learning opportunities based on what children already know and can do.
"The new focus will strengthen educational partnerships between parents, schools and kura.
"Schools and kura will still be required to report to parents, at least twice a year, on their child’s progress and achievement, especially in the foundational learning areas of maths, reading, and writing.
"But schools and kura will no longer be required to use National Standards and Nga Whanaketanga Rumaki Maori for this reporting."
Many, including Wakari School principal Chris Smith, said even if the ministry had not made the call, the decision to scrap National Standards was a fait accompli, based on the education policies of Labour, New Zealand First and the Green party.
"The narrow focus of National Standards has hurt schools and children’s education," Mr Smith said.
Musselburgh School principal Debbie Smith agreed. Having National Standards abolished would have a significant impact on the quality of education in New Zealand, she said.
"I’m very excited about National Standards being gone, and I’m excited about what that will do for the broadening of our curriculum and also individual children making individual progress.
"It’s going to give us a more holistic and balanced education for our children."
She said National Standards was brought in by the previous government because it believed New Zealand’s education system was failing many children who were falling behind and not being identified as needing extra help. But there was never anything wrong with the education system in the first place, she said.
"There’s always going to be children who have needs, no matter where you are. We’ve always known who those children are — as soon as they walk in the door, you know.
"It’s our job to be able to develop a curriculum for them — individualise it so that their strengths are used.
"How dare we, as a society, class our 5 and 6-year-olds as failures. That’s what National Standards made us do."
Otago Primary Principals’ Association chairman Chris McKinlay said it would be a relief for the majority of schools but believed some schools would continue to use standards.
New Zealand Principals’ Federation president Whetu Cormick, of Dunedin, said schools across the country were celebrating.
"The minister’s launch of the Education Amendment Bill will formally herald the end of a decade of addiction to National Standards data.
"Schools will now be freed from the shackles of obsessive data collection to embrace our broad, world-class curriculum which is the key to improving learning progress for all our young people."
