Performance measurement of state secondary schools of New Zealand: The teachers’ perspective

Abstract

The performance of State secondary schools of New Zealand is currently measured by the schools’ performance measurement system (PMS) as well as by the Education Review Office (ERO) and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). The schools’ PMS is established by the BOT (Board of Trustees) as per the detailed guideline of the Ministry of Education (MoE). The ERO audits compliance of the schools with respect to a set of legal statutes and directives of the Government. The NZQA measures the academic performance of the schools’ students on the basis of standards and processes (National Certificate of Educational Achievement; NCEA) established by it. Since MoE, ERO and NZQA are all government entities; performance measurement of State secondary schools currently appears to be dominated by governmental thinking. Hence State secondary schools do not measure how they are meeting the expectations of their teachers. This investigation identifies the key performance factors (KPFs) that the schools’ teachers consider significant in defining the schools’ performance and the indicators that they consider best reflects the status of the KPFs. The potential users of the outcome of this research are expected to be the State secondary school’s management as well as the MoE. This investigation is expected to improve the engagement of the school’s teachers with the school which may lead to better outcomes for State secondary schools, such as improved academic achievement of the students and greater initiation of students into the trades and tertiary education.