Can written reporting against New Zealand’s National Standards fulfil the mandate of creating a robust, learning-focused, home–school partnership?

Proponents of National Standards in New Zealand have argued that a key benefit of written reporting against New Zealand’s National Standards will be parents who are fully informed of their child’s achievements and thus better placed to support their learning. Using an interpretive, qualitative methodology and drawing on the perceptions and experiences of eight parents, this study investigated such claims. Using the reporting of reading progress and achievement as a case study, particular attention is paid to the nature, scope, and complexity of the information communicated to parents in National Standards reports for children in Years 1 to 8, their understandings of this information and the factors that enhanced or inhibited understanding, or both.