This is currently one of the new National Party billboards:

The question I have about this is that is it acceptable to make the exams so easy that anyone can pass. Isn’t the point of study and exams so that you can demonstrate that you know what you have studied? One could argue that the exams are too hard but if that is the case then why is the PPTA claiming the exams are too easy? (http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4683842a6442.html)

Who do you believe? The National Party or the teachers?

Here is an example of year 11 maths exam questions. A seven year old should be able to answer them all not a 16 year old.

1. 5 boys share a bag of 55 lollies. How many lollies does each boy get?

2. There were 60 cows inside a shed. 18 walked outside. How many cows were left inside the shed?

3. 38 x 6 = ?

4. David has 35 stamps. Bruce has 70 stamps. How many stamps do they have altogether?

For these ones they could use calculators:

5. Write these percentages as decimals: 34% 52% 8%

6. Write these decimals as fractions: 0.5 0.03 0.95

7. Betty got 13 of the 20 questions correct in a biology test. What percentage did Betty get?

8. Gary ate 25% of a cake. What fraction of the cake did he eat?

And my answers (all without a calculator):
1. 5 boys share a bag of 55 lollies. How many lollies does each boy get? 55/5 = 11.

2. There were 60 cows inside a shed. 18 walked outside. How many cows were left inside the shed? 60 - 18 = 42

3. 38 x 6 = ? 6 x 8 = 48 for the ones column, and 6 x 3 = 18 for the tens column, so 48 + 180 = 228

4. David has 35 stamps. Bruce has 70 stamps. How many stamps do they have altogether? 35 + 70 = 105

For these ones they could use calculators:

5. Write these percentages as decimals: 34% 52% 8% –> 0.34, 0.52, 0.08

6. Write these decimals as fractions: 0.5 0.03 0.95 –> 1/2, 3/100, 95/100 = 19/20

7. Betty got 13 of the 20 questions correct in a biology test. What percentage did Betty get? 65%

8. Gary ate 25% of a cake. What fraction of the cake did he eat? 1/4

Press Release: MASSEY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION FEDERATION

Massey University dumps on International Students

From 2009 all new International Students studying at Massey University will face an immediate 6 - 7% average increase in tuition fees and ongoing annual tuition fees increases due to a removal in fee Grand-parenting for International students.

Fee Grand-parenting of tuition fees for International Students ensures that students do not face tuition fee increases throughout their course. Massey University introduced fee Grand-parenting in 2005 to give International Students stability in their finances while they study.

“The decision by the Massey University Council last Friday to remove these protections for students’ financial wellbeing will severely hurt international students” says Albany Students’ Association (ASA) President, Brad Heap. “This decision was made entirely behind closed doors; students had no knowledge of this move and the University did not consult with a single student on the changes.”

“Massey University has decided to put profits before pastoral care of students and I find this disgraceful. You would expect the University to have a social conscience and protect their students not dump fee increases on them without consulting them,”said Heap.

MUSAF is committed to ensuring that the University treats all students as individuals and does not treat its International Students as ‘cash-cows’. MUSAF will continue to work with students across Massey University’s three campuses to ensure that the University actively consults with students and in the meantime urges Massey University Council to reverse its decision.

ENDS

Not much to say here.

Salient have a good series of blog post commentaries:

http://www.salient.org.nz/blog/nzusa-update/

http://www.salient.org.nz/blog/nzusa-update-2-the-nats-announce-policy-kinda-maybe/

http://www.salient.org.nz/blog/nzusa-day-three-morning-update-moderate-and-spurious-scandal-inside/

http://www.salient.org.nz/blog/nzusa-update-3-salient-barred-vuwsa-enraged-responsible-government-threatened/

This is old but good. Why National cannot be trusted.