Global Benchmarks

That the New Zealand education system is in a sound state was borne out by the publication at the end of 2007 of the 2006 PISA results which studied science, reading and mathematics performance of over 250,000 15 year old students in 57 countries.
The PISA results placed New Zealand in the very top group in the OECD.

The Pisa Executive Summary reported that:
Finland, with an average of 563 score points, was the highest-performing country on the PISA 2006 science scale. Six other high-scoring countries had mean scores of 530 to 542 points: Canada, Japan and New Zealand and the partner countries/economies Hong Kong, China, Chinese Taipei and Estonia. On average across OECD countries, 1.3% of 15-year-olds reached Level 6 of the PISA 2006 science scale, the highest proficiency level. These students could consistently identify, explain and apply scientific knowledge, and knowledge about science, in a variety of complex life situations. In New Zealand and Finland this figure was at least 3.9%, three times the OECD average. On the PISA 2006 reading scale New Zealand was fifth.

Even more interesting from my point of view was that  the PISA study identified that independent school students outperformed their state school counterparts in most countries and that New Zealand independent school students had the highest performance levels in the OECD, in first place for science and in second place for reading (after the UK) and for mathematics (after Korea).
When I was interviewed by the UK Financial Times I was asked why New Zealand independent school students performed so well; I believe it is because we think deeply about pedagogy, we incorporate different learning strategies and styles, we have expert and committed teachers, we are creative users of ICTs and we believe deeply in educating the whole person. This, I believe, produces outstanding levels of performance and makes New Zealand independent schools (as I told the Financial Times) “the best value on the planet”.

If New Zealand’s independent sector performs well, then St Cuthbert’s students do particularly well.
The 2007 College academic results showed a very healthy picture; over a range of measures the College retained its first placing in Levels 1 to 3 of NCEA. The advent of endorsed certificates was greeted very enthusiastically by our students, with St Cuthbert’s having the highest percentage of certificates endorsed with excellence at Levels 1 and 2, and second at Level 3.

The Scholarship results were outstanding. Our previous best total was 68 scholarships (in 2006); the 2007 Y13 graduates gained a staggering 106 scholarships, of which 20 were a t outstanding level. The Y13 students went on to amass 23 university scholarship offers, while one Y13 student was offered places and scholarships to 5 leading American universities.

One of the catch phrases of this decade is “world class” and the phrase is increasingly being used in the education sector. Many of the educational organisations that use the phrase fail, however, to define what “world class” means and equally, they fail to demonstrate how they meet the definition.
At St Cuthbert’s we have evidence that the educational experience we offer is truly world class; we have defined what we mean by the term and we have a number of key performance indicators by which we measure our performance against that definition.

Acceptance of St Cuthbert’s graduates at international universities is one measure.

St Cuthbert’s graduates gain places at the leading universities internationally. Our students are sought after by prestigious universities around the world, as well as in New Zealand. Recent graduates have gained places at universities such as Princeton University; Harvard University; University College of London; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkley; National University of Singapore and many other prominent international universities, while others are doing post-graduate study at Oxford.

There is considerable interest in our students from international universities. In recent years, we have hosted the Deans of Admissions from Yale, Dartmouth, Duke, Wellesley, Chicago, British Columbia, University of Toronto, and Brown who each expressed great interest in St Cuthbert’s students, while leading Australian universities such as Melbourne regularly recruit at St Cuthbert’s. Around 5-10% of our graduates – 10 students from 2007 – continue their studies overseas.
(It is worth noting that our students are very successful within the New Zealand context too. Our graduates gain very significant numbers of places in limited entry courses in New Zealand universities; in recent years, St Cuthbert’s has had the highest number of graduates accepted in to medicine….  at Auckland University.)

Another measure for the College is our international standing. One way in which this is expressed is through the number of international visitors attracted to the College by our reputation. In this term alone we have hosted visitors from Denmark, Oman, Thailand, and Britain.

Our Danish visitors are a case in point. The Director of Regional Departments for Education, two members of his staff and 11 Principals of upper secondary schools came to the College to look a t our pedagogical ideas and goals as a private institution and at the integration of computers in teaching. When I asked the Director why they had asked to visit us, his response was “When you ask where can you go to see exemplary programmes, everyone says St Cuthbert’s”. They reported that they were most impressed with traditions, innovative use of ICT, the systematic approach to the framework of learning and the dedication and focus of both staff and students.

Feedback from people with standing in the international education community is another indicator. Art Costa, the highly regarded developer of Habits of Mind said “The work of St Cuthbert’s College is truly impressive; they are pushing the level of complexity and sophistication of the Habits of Mind beyond all previous work. They are making new connections, developing archives of effective practices, and are extending the application and development of the Habits of Mind to new and diverse situations.”

A third measure is the willingness of other highly regarded schools to enter in to strategic alliances with the College. Schools such as The Chapin School in New York, Punahou in Hawaii, Lycee Louis le Grand in Paris, Cheltenham Ladies’ in England and the Castellja School in San Francisco are keen to share best practice, professional development, and student and staff exchanges with us.

A fourth measure is provided by our programme of international benchmarking. We benchmark against a wide range of measures; some are related to student outcomes such as percentage gaining the highest level of qualification and movement to tertiary study, while others are financial such as debt to equity ratios. As a country, we achieve some of the highest educational standards in the world. In 2008 New Zealand was ranked fifth in the world for reading proficiency and seventh for science by the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), while New Zealand’s independent school students topped the world. Within New Zealand, St Cuthbert’s College consistency performs at the highest academic levels. Our students achieve the highest results in the country in NCEA and scholarship examinations, while also performing at high levels in non-academic fields including sports and music.
Every year we report against these and other measures as we define what we mean by world class in a St Cuthbert’s context.
St Cuthbert’s has a global perspective; the key to our girls thriving in the global society is that they continue to receive a world class education.

Mrs Lynda Reid
Principal

PISA´S Top Ten Countries in Science & Reading

Scores represent the average score out of 1000 for a 15 year old student.