Principals call out new testing as unfit for purpose

Some principals say a new test the government wants schools to use is not fit for purpose.

They said the Student Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART) for assessing children in Years 3-8 was not accurate for measuring children's achievement.

The Education Ministry said it was making ongoing improvements to the tool.

The principal of Douglas Park School in Masterton Gareth Sinton told Nine to Noon his school was not using the system.

He said it was supposed to indicate how children were performing compared to curriculum expectations, but it could not yet do that.

"We have to report to parents using five labels and the tool will eventually be able do that but at the minute it cannot," he said.

"All you get is a a series of right or wrong answers and you can see what the kids have done but it doesn't point to the new curriculum yet."

"It's definitely ready to use in the way that it's perhaps been sold to us," Sinton said.

Sinton said SMART was expected to improve as it was fine-tuned but he would rather use the New Zealand-developed and owned PAT system.

The principal of Glenview Primary School in Porirua, Lynda Knight, said SMART cost $85-million over five years including $24m to buy it from its Australian owners.

"It just seems unnecessary when we've got a New Zealand-made rigourous tool," she said.

Knight said her school was not using the tool either.

She said PATs provided detailed information about children's strengths and weaknesses.

The Education Ministry said the tool was trailed in October and November 2025 and could be used this year though it was not compulsory this year.

"It sits alongside teacher judgement and other assessment information when schools report to parents and whānau. It is not intended to be used as a standalone measure," the ministry said.

"Some teachers have raised concerns about questions or answers. Assessment questions go through a quality assurance process, and where issues are identified they are reviewed and changes are made where needed.

"Teachers can also raise anything they are unsure about with the Ministry so it can be checked. Feedback supports ongoing improvements to the tool."