Links to Te Whāriki
Ngā hononga ki Te Whāriki

The principles of Te Whāriki as they apply to assessment are set out on page 30 of the curriculum. They include the following statement:

Assessment should be a two-way process. Children’s self-assessment can inform adults’ assessment of learning, development, and the environment by providing insights that adults may not have identified and by highlighting areas that could be included or focused on for assessment. Children may also help to decide what should be included in the process of assessing the programme and the curriculum.

The section on evaluation and assessment includes this statement:

The learning environment should enable children to set and pursue their own goals within the boundaries necessary for safety and to reflect on whether they have achieved their goals.

Te Whāriki, page 29

The learning environment can be more powerful than “enabling”. It can invite, stimulate, provoke, and encourage (literally, by inspiring children with the courage to set and pursue their own goals and to reflect on whether they have achieved them). Assessment practices that contribute to children’s views of themselves as competent and confident learners and communicators within a bicultural context are part of just such an enabling, inviting, stimulating, provoking, and encouraging learning environment.