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When a secondary school student asks a teacher if a significant increase in the school’s achievement in ncEA means the school’s decile rating will be going up, what does that student understand a decile to mean?

Do parents really believe their children will get a better education at a higher decile school? How has something that was introduced as a census based, statistical funding mechanism become a public promotional tool for the quality of teaching and learning at state and state-integrated schools in new Zealand?

We ask a selection of faculty staff and school principals to provide their perspective on the decile debate, their experience of working in low and high decile schools and whether there might be a better alternative.

TheGreatDecileDebate

AnethicaldilemmaJoy EatonDeputyDirectoroftheStarpathProject,FacultyofEducation

Joy Eaton started her career in education as a social studies and geography teacher at Tangaroa College. She spent twenty years in various teaching and senior leadership positions at Waitakere College, including deputy and associate

principal, and four years as principal at Henderson High School.

Ihavefoundthe‘decilequestion’anethicaldilemma.Iabsolutelyseetheneedforaschoolfundingmechanismthatredressestheimbalancesofcommunityeconomics,thatseekstosupportthegoalsofequityandthatisvitaltoensureyoungpeoplewhocomefromourpoorercommunitiescanexperienceahighqualityeducation,butIamstunnedbythemisuseandthewidespreadmisunderstandingoftheterm.Media,schoolsandparentshaveloadedthetermwithmeaningthatwasnotintendedanddoesdamagetoschoolswiththe‘lowdecile’label.

Theblatantuseofdecileratinginthepromotionalgamehasreinforcedtheperceptionthatthedecilenumbertellsthepublichowsuccessfulaschoolis.Itisnotuncommon,astheenrolmentseasonstartsup,forsomeonetoaskme“whatdoesdecilemean?ShouldIenrolmychildinthelocalschool?It’sadecile3!”EvenwhenIexplainwhatthedecileratingmeanstheytendtoremainunconvincedthattheyshouldinvestigatetheiroptionsmoredeeply,oftenpreferringtheeasierbutsuperficialmeasureoflownumber:poorschool,highnumber:goodschool.

NomatterwhatdecilelabeltheschoolcarriesIhaveseenstudentswithprideintheirschoolandprideintheirachievements.But,Ihavealsoseentheconfusionandhurtinthoseyoungpeopleastheystepintoaworldthatseestheireffortsoflessvaluebecausetheirschoolcarriesthe‘lowdecile’label.Theyarenotunaware,theyknowtheirfamiliesdonothavetheeconomicwealthofothersbutthatdoesn’tlessentheirprideintheirschool.Manywanttoachieveasothersdo,theydonotsee‘lowdecile’asanexcuseforpoorperformanceorlowexpectation.Norshouldthey.

Studentshavearighttogototheirlocalschoolandtoexperienceaneducationthatservesthemwellfortheiraspirationalfuture.Theyhavearighttomixwiththeirneighboursandtobepartoftheirlocalcommunity.Butastheeconomicgapbetweencommunitieswidensandparentalfearsabouttheirchildren’sfuturedeepensthepushtotransportstudentstothehighestdecileschoolintheareabecomesstronger.Yetwefaceasustainabilitycrisisinthefossil-fueledeconomythatmustfinditssolutionsinthestrengthofneighbourhood.Itmakeseconomicsensethatthelocalschool,nomatterwhatitsdecilestatus,isseenasavaluablecentreofcommunitywellbeingandachievement.

Removingdecilefundingisnottheanswer.Itisveryimportantthatschoolfundingcontinuestohavethecapacitytoaddresssocio-economicdisparity.Removingthelabelisnottheanswereitherbecausesuchalabelopenlydescribesthepositionoftheschoolcommunityonthesocio-economiccontinuum.Whatisneededisaconcertedefforttochallengethenegativeperceptionsofthe‘lowdecile’labelandarepositioningoftheterminthelanguageofschoolsandmediasothatitfulfillsitsoriginalpurpose.

Competitiveschool marketingconfusesthedebate

Ann DunphyLecturer,SchoolofTeaching,LearningandDevelopment,FacultyofEducation

Ann Dunphy is also involved in the development of the NZ Youth Mentoring Network to provide additional support to young people from low-decile backgrounds. She was Principal of Penrose High School 1986-99, Deputy Principal Tangaroa College

1976-86, HOD and Dean, Hillary College 1970-75, Teacher Edgecumbe College 1965-70.

A school’s decile indicates the proportion of its students that are from low-socio economic communities. Census data used in the calculation include:

•Household income – the percentage of households with income in the lowest 20% nationally.

•Occupation – the percentage of employed parents in the lowest skilled occupational groups.

•Household crowding – the percentage of households with a crowding index greater than one (the proportion of household members per bedroom adjusted for the presence of children under 10).

•Educational qualifications – the percentage of parents with no tertiary or school qualifications.

•income support – the percentage of parents who received a benefit in the previous year.

A school’s decile rating does not indicate the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

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Ibeganmyteachingcareerinalow-decileschool30yearsbeforethetermwasinvented,havinggrownupinthepostwar,pre-EECboomwhenNewZealand’segalitarianmythofaclasslesssocietywasparticularlystrong.Inthosedaysoffullemploymentandlimitedtraveloptions,thelocalcountryhighschoolwasasourceofcommunitypride,withstrongsocialpressureforchildrenofallbackgroundstobeschooledtogetherwithinthehomedistrict.

Asateacherstrongly-motivatedbythedemocraticidealofeducation’spathwaystoopportunity,movingtoAucklandin1970camewithacommitmenttothelow-decilesector.Aworseningeconomicclimate,urbandriftandgrowingparentalfearsfortheirchildren’sfuturesteadilyerodedthepostwarconsensus,heighteningaspirationalattitudesofseekingtomaximisefamilyeducationalchances—bybuyinghomesinwealthierareasorapplyingforout-of-zoneenrolmentwhensuchpropertypurchasewasnotanoption.

Thissocialdifferentiationacceleratedthroughthe1980s,withincreasingnumbersofparentsfearingthatthedisadvantageofpoor,minoritychildrenmightholdtheirownchildrenback.Asprincipalofalower-decileschoolduringthattime,itwasnotuncommontobeasked“HowmanyMäoriandPacificIslandchildrengotoyourschool?”TheNationalgovernment’sdezoningpolicyfrom1991to1998thenopenedtheproverbialfloodgates,wideningsocio-economicdisparitiessomarkedlythatdifferentialfunding,basedoncensusdata,wasintroducedin1995topromoteequity.

Whilenooneclaimsthatdecilefundingisaperfectsystem,oursmallcountry’ssenseoffairnesshasensureditsdurability.ButhistoricallyNewZealandhasalsobeenreluctanttohavefrankandinformeddebateabouttherealitiesofsocialclassdifference,especiallywhenotherfactorscansoeasilyleadtothemuddledthinkingcitedinthisarticle’sopeningsentence.

EducationalsociologistMartinThruppeloquentlydefendsthedecilesystem,statingthat“Itisinescapablethatsocio-economicissuesaffectschoolperformance”and“Decilesoftenjustconfirmwhatparentsalreadyknowaboutthesocialgeographyoftheirarea.”TheSundayStarTimeseditorialofSeptember11,2011alsonotedthat“Perhapstheworstpartoftheschoolreformsofthepast25yearsisthattheyhavebredaDarwiniancompetitionineducation”-animportantandgenerallyunspokenelementincurrentmisinformationaboutwhatdecilesactuallyrepresent.

Professionaleducatorshavealeadershipresponsibilitytoprovideclear,factualevidencetoinformpublicunderstanding,sothisoverviewfromsociologicalandhistoricalperspectivesseekstoilluminateourdebate.IstandwithMartinThruppinseeingdecilefundingasindispensible,butthatitsvitalequitypurposeneedstobebetterunderstood.Competitivepressuresofschoolmarketing,whichactagainstthenationalinterestoffullandfrankdiscussion,needtobeexposed.

Challengingthemisperceptions

Salvatore GargiuloPrincipal,ManurewaHighSchool

Prior to this role, Salvatore Gargiulo has been principal of the Aga Khan International School in Tanzania for three years, headmaster of Nelson College for 11 years and involved in a project focused on the achievement of boys in New Zealand Schools with Celia Lashlie. He was awarded a Queen’s Service Order in 2006.

WhenIwasprincipalofNelsonCollegefrom1995to2006thedecileratingwasanumberontheschoolprofile.InmyroleofprincipalatManurewaHighSchoolIfoundtherewasadifferentperspectiveaboutthenumberusedtorankschools.Myintroductiontoitcamefromvariousconversationsincluding:

•Fromoneofmydaughter’sfriends–Will you be attempting to improve the decile rank?

•Fromlandagents–The schools in this area are all high decile.

•Fromprincipals–Why would you want to work in a low decile school?

Thatdecilesarebasedontheaverageincomeofparentsofthestudentsintheschoolisnotwidelyknownandisoftendisguisedbyprincipalsofhighdecileschools.Ihaveheardfromex-pupilsthataprincipalofadecile10schoolsaidatassembly–“weareproudthatwehavemaintainedthedecile10ranking,weareoneofthetopschoolsinNewZealand!”

Between2006and2010IworkedoverseasinDubai,TanzaniaandLondon.IvisitedschoolsinAustralia,EuropeandAsia.Noneofthesecountrieshaveaschoolranking.

IamproudofManurewa’sachievementsacademically,culturallyandinsportandinformstudentsaboutthedecilesystem.“Wearealowdecileschool.Thisisbecauseyourparentsonaveragearelowincomeearnersbecausetheyhavenotgotschoolqualificationsandthereforedon’tgethighlypaidjobs.Thereforeensurethatyougetadecentincomebygainingqualifications….”

Ichallengemisperceptionsondeciles.Recently,inaMetromagazinearticlelowdecileschoolsinscholarshiprankingwerenotincluded.Iwrotealettertotheeditorandthoughawardedthe‘letteroftheweek’theletterwasnotpublishedandalsowasinaccuratelysummarised.

Iamawaretherearein-zoneparentswhowillnotsendtheirchildrentoourschool.Oneparentconfidedthatforfiveyearsshehadbankedthemoneythatshewouldhavespenttosendherchildtoahigherdecileschoolandthefamilywasgoingtogoonaworldtrip.ThisstudentcompletedschoolwithUniversityEntrancewithascholarship,hasanintimateunderstandingoftheculturesofNewZealandandaworldtripwithherfamily.

TheconcernsIhaveare;studentswhobelievebeingatalowdecileschoolmeansbeingdoomedtolowachievementand

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significantlythecommunityalsobelievesthis,thustheprophecybecomesself-fulfilling.

Anoutcomeofthisperpetuatingisadifferenceinincomesforfamilies,whichisnotonlyasocialcostbutalsoaneconomiccosttothecommunitiesandcountry.Itismorally,ethicallyandalsofinanciallyinappropriatetoprovidearankingbasedonwealthofparents.

How effectiveisourdecilesysteminovercomingdisparity?

Peter GallPrincipal,PapatoetoeHighSchool(since1996)

Peter Gall has previous experience at Papakura High School, Pukekohe High School, Waitara High School and a range of rural, urban, low and mid-decile schools.

ManyOECDcountrieshavepoliciesthataimtogiveeffectto

overcomingeducationdisadvantagebetweenthe‘haves’and‘havenots’.Mostoftheseinvolvedirectlyprovidingfamilieswithfundsviaallowances,grantsorvouchersforfreelunches,freetransportorschoolmaterials.TheNewZealandmodelofovertlylabellingschoolsbytheirsocio-economicindicatorandfundingthemaccordinglyisatoneendofthespectrum.Franceadoptedasimilarpolicy–EducationPrioritairethatclassifiesschoolsintothreecategoriesbasedonsocio-economicstatus.Fieldetal(2007)identifiedanumberofproblemswiththispolicy:

•Teachers,parentsandstudentsbeingstigmatisedasattendingadisadvantagedschool.

•Middleclassfamiliesoptingtomoveawayfromtheseschoolsthereforecreatinggreaterconcentrationsofpoorerpeople.

Soundfamiliar?Theyalsodeterminedthatthepolicyhasnotresultedinimprovedschooloutcomes.

Carpenter(2008)believesthatthedecilesystemactuallyprovidestheupperandmiddleclasseswithadistinctadvantageandtheorisesthatthosefamiliesdon’twanttochangeasystemthatworksverywellfortheirchildren.HerthoughtsaremirroredbyThrupp(2007)whoreferstothismiddleclassadvantageas“education’sinconvenienttruth”.

Thechoiceofaschool,ormoreimportantlytheabilityofparentstochooseaschoolfortheirchildren,isakeyaspecttosustainingmiddleclassadvantage.AlthoughtheenrolmentlegislationinNewZealandwasamendedin1999todecreasetheabilityofstateschoolstochoosewhichstudentstheyenrolled,therealityisthatotherfactorshavearisenthatmaintainmiddleclassschoolsbeingjustthat.HousepricesandrentalpricesareakeyfilterandThruppusestheterm“selectionbymortgage”toshowhowmiddleclassschoolsareselectiveandadvantaged.

TheTomorrow’sSchoolsreformsinthe1980s,hadtheintenttomakethesystemmoreproductiveandaccountable.Keyto

thispolicywastheabilityofparentstohavechoiceinselectingschoolsfortheirchildren.Schoolswouldbecompetingforstudents,andthereforetheirfunding,withthebeliefthatthiswouldpromoteefficiencyinthesystem.Beingabletoattendaschoolofchoiceisempoweringforthosewhoareableto.Thoseinlowsocio-economiccommunitieshavelittlechoicehoweverandschoolsinthoseareashavebecomeincreasinglysegregatedandparentsaredisempowered.

ThelabellingofNewZealandschools,andthereforethecommunitiestheyserve,bytheirsocio-economicstatusbecomesawelcomebadgeforhighdecileareasandananchor-stoneforlowerdecileschools.

Ibelievethereisawidedegreeofignoranceaboutdecilerankings–theideathatlowdecileschoolsequalabadschool,highdecileequalsgoodschoolseemstobewidelyaccepted.Thedecilesystemiswellembeddedwithinoureducationsystem,buthasnotaddressedthedisparityinafullrangeofeducationaloutcomesthatwasthemainintendedgoalofthepolicy.Perhapsithasevencontributedtothewideninggap.

ReferencesCarpenter,V.(2008)TeachingNewZealand’s‘ChildrenofthePoor’.Ngä kaupapa Here: Connections and Contradictions in Education. Cengage Learning.

Thrupp,M.(2007).Education’s‘InconvenientTruth’:PartOne–PersistentMiddleClassAdvantage.New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work Vol4,Issue2,77-88.

Field,S.,Kuczera,M.,Port,B.(2007)No more Failures: Ten Steps to Equity

in Education.CELDPublishing.

Pauseanddoyourhomework first

Barbara Ala’alatoaPrincipal,SylviaParkSchool

Throughout her career in education, Barbara Ala’alatoa has taught at a number of schools in Mangere, South Auckland. She has also been a lecturer in social sciences at the former Auckland College of Education and a Schooling Improvement Coordinator for the Ministry of Education working

with low decile schools to develop a targeted approach to professional development to raise student achievement.

Thedecilerankinghasacquiredastatuswellbeyonditsintendedpurpose.Asabureaucraticmechanismtodeterminetheequitabledistributionoffundingtoschools,decileratingsserveapurpose.Unfortunatelydecileratingshavebecomeequatedwithquality,bothmistakenlyandintentionally.

Therearethosewhousedecileratingsintentionallytopromotetheirschools.Somehighdecileschoolsforinstanceincludetheirdecileratingwhenadvertisingpositions.Realestateadvertisementsarealsonotaversetotheinclusionofaschool’shighdecileratingintheirmarketingorthementioningofaproperty’sproximitytoaparticularlocalhighschoolorlocationwithina“grammarzone”.

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oPinion PieceS

Thereisalargeportionofthecommunitywhomistakenlythinkthatdecileratingisaqualitydeterminant.Lastyearourschoolreceivedafour/fiveyearreviewfromtheEducationReviewOffice(ERO).SubsequentlyIwasaskedbyseveralpeopleifourdecileratingwouldincrease.TheyweremorethanalittlesurprisedwhenIsaid,“Ihopenot!”.Hereinliestheproblem.Toomanyofthecommunities’mostimportantstakeholdersdon’tknowhowtogaugeaschool’seffectivenesssodecileratingshavebecomeaconvenientwayofmakingthisjudgement.

Theonlywaytocounterthemisinterpretationofdecileistobeclearandhonestaboutwhatthequalitymarkersofschoolsare.Whenprospectiveparentsvisitourschool,orIvisitearlychildhoodcentres,mymessageisalwaysthesame-readthelatestEROreportasanindependentreviewoftheschool(forsomestrangereasonEROreviewsalwaysincludethedecileratingalbeitwithanexplanation)andgototheschoolarmedwithlotsofquestions,walkthroughclassroomsandtheplaygroundtoseewhetheritfeelslikeasafe,happyandpurposefulplace.Keepthequestionssimplebutdirect.HowcanIbesurethatmychildwillachieveaswellatthisschoolastheywouldinanyotherschoolinthecountry?Howwillthelearningintheschoolengageandexcitemy21stCenturychildtoparticipatewithenthusiasm?Islearninghererealandconnectedtowhatmychildwillneedintheirdaytodaylife?Howwillthisschoolhelpmychildtobecuriousabouttheworld?

Thetruthofthematteristhattherearesomegreatschools,andsomethatneedimprovement,representedacrossthespectrumofhighandlowdeciles.Weallhavearesponsibilitytodispelthemythofdecileasaqualitymarkerinoureffortstomarketorpromoteourschoolsandcommunities.I’dadviseallthosesearchingforqualitymarkerstodotheirhomeworkfirst.

Therisks ofresearchersusingdecile

Stuart McNaughtonProfessorofEducationandDirectoroftheWoolfFisherResearchCentre,FacultyofEducation

Stuart McNaughton’s research focuses on literacy and language development including processes of education, socialisation and culture, and on the design of effective instruction and educational programmes for culturally

and linguistically diverse students.

InthiscommentaryIfocusontheuseofschool‘decile’byresearchers,theuseofwhichhassomeutility-buttherearerisks.Usedasa(weak)proxyforthesocio-economicstatus(SES)andethnicitymakeupofaschoolithascontributedtosomeimportantfindings.Onmanydifferentindicesofliteracyatdifferentlevelsintheschoolthereisaconsistentassociationbetweendecileandachievement.Itoftenlookslikean‘s’curvewhichisrelativelyflatinthemiddlewithpronounceddipsandrisesateachend.

Inourinterventionsinclustersofdecile1schools,theWoolfFisherResearchCentrecanshowthatthesedifferencesbetweenschoolsarenotinevitableanditispossibleforMāoriandPacificstudentsintheseschoolstoachieveatlevelsthatareexpectednationally,althoughthisisdifficulttoestablishandevenmoresotosustain.

JohnHattiemadedecileacentrepieceinaViceChancellor’slecturein2002whenhehaddiscoveredinnormingdatathattherewasaconstantdifferenceinreadingachievementacrossdecilesofmorethanhalfayearbetweenMāoriandPacificstudentsandtheirPakehapeers.Henotedthatobviouslymorethansocio-economicbackgroundwasatwork.

Butthereareriskswithourusingdecile.Oneisplacingaschoolinasinglecategory.Likethegenericriskassociatedwithaveraging,thedecileunitmaynotrepresenttheactualmixofstudents.OneschoolinacurrentprojecthasabimodaldistributionintermsofSESandethnicitywhich,whenaveraged,givesamiddledecilerating.Butthegroupsofstudentsreflectverydifferentcommunities.

Asecondriskfollowsfromthis.Byusingthecategoryasa‘variable’weobfuscatethelivedrealityofstudents,theirfamilies,theirteachersandaschool’scommunities.WeriskusingtheassociationsbetweendecileandbackgroundinwhatUrieBronfenbrennercriticisedasa‘letterbox’approachtounderstanding.

Weneedtogetbehindthesocialaddressesofschoolsandfamiliestofullyunderstandtheprocessesthatcontributetochildren’slearninganddevelopmentinsideandoutsideofschool.Thisisneededtocheckthecurrentargumentsthatschoolscan(orcan’t)makeameaningfulandlonglastingdifferencetoallchildren’sachievement.

Athirdrelatedriskisusingthedecilecategorytoexplain,andperhapsjustify.Reflectingthis,thereareassessmentsinwhichthemanualnotesthatachievementinlowdecileschoolstypicallyisaboutastaninelowerthanhighdecileschoolsandprincipalsandBoardsofTrusteesshould“bearthisinmind”whenreporting.

Decileusedinthiswayrisksleadingustoexplainachievementby‘decileness’,andinsodoingreinforcingasenseofinevitabilityaboutthelimitstoaschool’seffectiveness.

Weacknowledgethatthisarticlerepresentstheexperienceandopinionsofasmallselectionofthewidereducationcommunity.Wewelcomeyourviewsonthissubject.Email:tekuaka@auckland.ac.nz

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