Abstract:
Students who entered West Coast secondary schools in 2008 began Year 9 with achievement in reading comprehension that was higher than national norms (Lai, 2009). By the end of 2008, STAR (reading comprehension) testing revealed that this cohort had begun to show a drop in achievement in reading comprehension against national norms and this continued with a further drop in Year 10 (Lai, 2009). Historically, there have also been relatively low levels of achievement by students in NCEA assessment in the West Coast region. The aim of the research was to use student voice to understand the pattern of achievement of Year 9 and 10 students in West Coast secondary schools. To capture student voice, Year 10 students (n=93) completed surveys about their experiences of secondary school. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of students (n=18). This provided data on the factors identified from local and international research that could influence achievement, for example, student aspirations, parental expectations and pedagogy. Achievement data on reading comprehension were also collected. Students perceptions of factors such as parental support for education, the influence of peer groups and student’s future aspirations were positive and did not suggest that these were implicated in the decreasing levels of achievement. In contrast, the use of student voice suggested that being unsure how to improve their work, teacher expectations that were lower than appropriate for this group of students and a lack of cognitive challenge may have impacted to some extent on student achievement. This research reinforces the importance of testing assumptions and highlights the value of using student voice to improve teaching and learning. It demonstrates that there is much to be gained from consulting students about their experiences of school. Hearing what students have to say about school and their learning has the potential to allow teachers to view their classrooms from a different perspective. This can be the catalyst for changes to teaching approaches and practices.