A new study says the national standards in reading, writing and maths are doing more harm than good.
The study, by researchers at Waikato University, tracked six schools for three years and interviewed more than 400 teachers, students and school trustees.
It found that the focus placed on numeracy and literacy by the standards was to the detriment of subjects such as science and the arts.
Lead researcher Martin Thrupp said national standards narrowed the curriculum and increased teachers' workloads.
In an opinion piece published in today's Herald, Professor Thrupp says there is potential for national standards to "have a detrimental impact on day-to-day processes and relationships in and around schools long before the data gets published".
He recommended that the Government stop ranking children's performance above, at, below or well below the standards, and that it should stop collecting and reporting schools' results.
Education Minister Hekia Parata defended the national systems system on Radio New Zealand's Morning Report.
