National standards ‘belittle people like me’

 Tina Law
Adam Hodgson, 13

DON SCOTT/Fairfax NZ

NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT: Adam Hodgson, 13, says national standards do not work for people like him with learning differences such as dyspraxia.

A 13-year-old Christchurch boy wants the Government to change the national standards testing system because he says children with learning differences are being set up to fail.

Adam Hodgson has dyspraxia, a condition that affects the planning of his movements and co-ordination.

He needs more time to sit exams, and if he was able to answer questions verbally he would get a much higher result, but he says the national standards testing system does not allow that to happen.

Adam, who attends Westburn School, said he was below the national standard, but that did not mean he was dumb. It just meant the method of testing was not suited to him.

In a speech he wrote for a school competition, Adam said the testing system did not give a fair reflection of what he was capable of doing.

Read more here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/7818865/National-standards-belittle-people-like-me

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From the Smiths:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/

Updated 5 October 2012:  One year on (Craig Smith’s Health) page 7 click here

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Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

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