PLATO Media Release 20 June 2006 - for immediate release

Teachers unhappy with OBE "Compromise Deal"

PLATO spokesman Steve Kessell says many teachers are not happy with the so-called "Compromise OBE Deal".

Kessell said: "Perhaps the biggest sticking-point is the retention of Leveling, which will continue in K - 10, and will be fully implemented in senior secondary over the next two years."

Kessell compared teachers using Levels to how they would apply to a weather forecaster.

"Rather than report the temperature, he'd have 8 Levels of "very cold - cold - cool - warm - and so forth".

"The problem is, what he calls "warm", you might call "cool", and your neighbour from Darwin might call "cold". It's a subjective judgment.

"In reaching a consensus, a statistical procedure like the Curriculum Council's model, would be used.

"Today's forecast is for an afternoon high of "Warm.2", followed by an overnight low of "Cold.5". Tomorrow should be "Cool.8".

"It silly, isn't it? Why not just report the actual temperature?"