Kids Only Need 12 Weeks of School to Make 1–2 Years’ Progress?

by ELV

A Misleading Headline Brought You Here — Good. Let’s Talk.

It’s simple enough, really.

Anyone who works in education — teacher, leader, PLD facilitator, data analyst, or that quiet kaiako who colour-codes their spreadsheets with reverence — understands how learning data works: how progress is measured, how validity is checked, how growth is actually tracked.

And we know when someone is twisting the numbers to feed a narrative.

So let’s start with the obvious.

When Accountability Becomes a Moving Target

Today’s performance on the Herald’s Political Panel wasn’t about explaining results. It was about rerouting blame — shifting it anywhere except where it might belong.

She couldn’t blame the Ministry; they’re already holding the play-sand scandal.

She couldn’t blame Tania Waikato; she’s been blamed enough for “the maps.”

So she chose a new target: the New Zealand Principals’ Federation, and specifically Leanne Otene.

The logic?

Because the Federation warned in 2021 that maths across Aotearoa was in crisis, any questioning of this year’s “extraordinary” results must be jealousy or political vendetta.

Not methodological caution.

Not professional integrity.

Not valid concerns about robustness.

Just petty motives.

When ‘Psychometrician’ Becomes a Shield

The word of the day was psychometrician.

She repeated it like a charm — as if saying it ten times might distract us from the gaps.

Ironically, a psychometrician is simply someone who designs assessments.

So… every teacher in Aotearoa.

Every kaiako who builds a test, designs a rubric, or checks for understanding.

By her own definition, Leanne Otene is one.

We all are.

But facts never get in the way when the spin cycle is running hot.

The Staffroom Reaction Told the Real Story

After the interview, I floated the idea around with the people I work with.

Good, honest educators.

People who live in classrooms, not studios.

And the reaction was instant:

“If kids can make 1–2 years’ progress in 12 weeks…why do they need to come to school every day?”

A fair question.

If one term can sling-shot tamariki into academic orbit, then:

• Why do we need attendance officers patrolling communities like bloodhounds?

• Why are teachers being scolded for ‘failing’ to lift attendance magically?

• Why are Teacher Only Days treated like national emergencies?

• Why not just bottle this miracle maths programme and call it salvation?

Someone else whispered: “Did you know ERO stands for Erica Runs the Office?”

And honestly — today, it felt like that: a command centre, a performance, a rebranding of numbers rather than a transparent explanation.

The Part Politicians Always Misread

And here’s the part they never seem to grasp:

Blaming the sector doesn’t fragment us.

Attacking principals doesn’t turn us on each other.

Trying to pit teacher against leader, leader against Board, Board against the profession —it doesn’t work.

Because unlike politics, education isn’t built on ego.

We don’t enter classrooms for applause or headlines.

We don’t forget who we serve.

We don’t lose sight of the tamariki at the centre.

Where politicians look after their own interests, teachers look after their communities.

So when someone tries to fracture the profession with blame, all it does is make us stronger. More united. More steady.

They keep hoping we’ll splinter.

Instead, we bind tighter.

We lock arms.

We remember who we are.

The Real Punchline

Educators aren’t mocking achievement.

We are mocking the spin.

Because if the results are real — genuinely, statistically, psychometrically real — that would be something to celebrate.

It would change what we understand about learning science, especially for our most vulnerable learners.

But instead of transparency, we get:

• shifting narratives

• scapegoats

• jargon

• and a word used ten times as a shield: psychometrician

If the results are valid, fantastic.

Just show your working — like every Year 6 maths student in the country is asked to do.

What’s Actually at Stake

This isn’t about attacking teachers.

This isn’t about discrediting progress.

This is about honesty.

When narratives shift this quickly, you can feel the scramble.

Instead of steadiness, we get performance.

Instead of clarity, we get misdirection.

Instead of accountability, we get theatrics.

And every time a fair question is asked about methodology, the response is the same:

Blame someone else.

Repeat a complicated word.

Hope the public stops paying attention.

But we’re paying attention.

We always have been.

The learning village — Māori, Pākehā, rural, urban — doesn’t sway with headlines.

We’re not laughing at progress.

We’re laughing at the illusion — because when truth is steady, you don’t need to spin it.

And when learning gains are real, you don’t need to run from the office —or run the office— to prove it.

We stand here together — teachers, tumuaki, Boards, support staff, whānau — holding one line:

Our tamariki deserve data that’s honest,

leadership that’s steady,

and stories that do not collapse under the first question asked.

Until that happens, we will keep the mirror raised.

Calm.

Unwavering.

Unblinking.

Because the truth does not panic.

And neither do we.