Teacher Marking Guide

Decolonized Assessment Principles | Te Kete Ako Units 1-7

Why This Guide?

Te Kete Ako units teach critical, decolonized content. But if we assess using colonial standards— prioritizing "objectivity," individual achievement, and Eurocentric writing styles— we undermine everything we're trying to teach. This guide helps you mark work in ways that align with our kaupapa.

Core Principles for Decolonized Assessment

1. Value Critical Analysis Over "Balance"

Traditional Assessment: "Give both sides equal weight. Don't be too political."

Decolonized Assessment: There are no "two sides" to colonization. One side stole land and oppressed people; the other resisted. Reward students for naming power structures clearly, not for false neutrality.

✅ Reward: "The Crown systematically violated Te Tiriti to acquire Māori land..."
❌ Don't Penalize: "...while some argue the Crown acted legally, they redefined 'legal' to justify theft."
⚠️ Do Penalize: "Some people think the Treaty was good, others think it was bad" (false equivalence, no analysis)

2. Center Māori Voices & Primary Sources

Traditional Assessment: Any "academic" source is equally valid.

Decolonized Assessment: Prioritize Māori voices telling their own stories. When students only cite Pākehā historians writing ABOUT Māori, ask: "Where are Māori speaking for themselves?"

✅ Excellent: Direct quotes from Māori leaders, iwi historians, contemporary Māori scholars, oral histories
✔️ Good: Pākehā scholars who center Māori perspectives (Claudia Orange, James Belich—critically)
⚠️ Weak: Only 19th-century Pākehā sources or modern textbooks
❌ Red Flag: No Māori voices at all—only writing ABOUT Māori

3. Recognize Diverse Forms of Knowledge

Traditional Assessment: Academic essay is the gold standard. Oral presentations are "less rigorous."

Decolonized Assessment: Māori knowledge is oral, visual, embodied. A well-researched pepeha, a whakapapa chart, a haka performance, or a community presentation can demonstrate deep understanding.

Valid Assessment Forms:
  • Traditional essay
  • Oral presentation or storytelling
  • Visual art with written rationale
  • Community action project with reflection
  • Podcast or video documentary
  • Wānanga (facilitated group discussion) with notes

Key: All forms must demonstrate critical thinking, evidence, and depth.

4. Assess Growth & Transformation, Not Just "Correctness"

Traditional Assessment: Did the student get the "right answer"?

Decolonized Assessment: Is the student thinking critically? Have they changed their understanding? A student who starts with colonial assumptions but grapples with them honestly is learning more than one who parrots "correct" answers without reflection.

✅ Reward Growth: "I used to think the Treaty was a partnership, but now I see how the English version was designed to deceive..."
✅ Reward Honesty: "I don't fully understand why non-violence was the right strategy at Parihaka, but I see how it exposed the government's brutality..."
❌ Don't Over-Reward: "Colonization was bad" (correct but shallow—needs analysis)

5. Make Power & Positionality Visible

Traditional Assessment: "Be objective. Don't bring yourself into it."

Decolonized Assessment: Objectivity is a myth. Everyone has a perspective. Reward students for acknowledging their positionality (Māori/Pākehā, class, gender) and how it shapes their understanding.

✅ Excellent: "As a Pākehā student, I benefit from systems created by colonization. Learning this history makes me uncomfortable, but that discomfort is part of unlearning colonial narratives..."
✅ Excellent: "As Māori, this history is personal. My tūpuna lived this. Hearing Pākehā classmates doubt these stories is exhausting, but it shows me why counter-narratives matter..."
⚠️ Missing: No acknowledgment of who they are or how that shapes their perspective

Common Challenges & How to Address Them

❌ Student Uses Passive Voice to Hide Power

Student Writes: "Land was taken from Māori during the 1860s..."

Problem: "Was taken" hides WHO took it. Colonial violence becomes invisible.

Feedback: "Who took the land? Name the actor: 'The Crown confiscated 1.2 million hectares...' Passive voice hides responsibility."

❌ Student Treats History as "Sad" or "Tragic" (No Agency)

Student Writes: "It's sad that Māori lost their land and culture was nearly destroyed..."

Problem: "Lost" and "nearly destroyed" suggest inevitability. No acknowledgment of Māori resistance or colonial agency.

Feedback: "Māori didn't 'lose' land—it was stolen through law and violence. And te reo wasn't 'nearly destroyed'—it survived because of deliberate resistance and revitalization efforts. Show agency."

❌ Student Relies Only on Pākehā Historians

Student Cites: Only James Belich, Michael King, or high school textbooks.

Problem: Māori history filtered through Pākehā lens, even when sympathetic.

Feedback: "You've researched Pākehā historians writing ABOUT Māori. Now find Māori voices: Ranginui Walker, Aroha Harris, Ani Mikaere, Linda Tuhiwai Smith. Or primary sources: iwi histories, Waitangi Tribunal reports, Māori-led archives."

❌ Student Presents Colonial Narrative Without Critique

Student Writes: "The government needed to establish law and order, so they signed the Treaty..."

Problem: Uncritically repeats colonial justification. No questioning of whose "law," whose "order."

Feedback: "Whose law? Māori had their own legal systems (tikanga). The Crown wanted to impose British law to enable land sales and settlement. Question whose interests 'law and order' served."

✅ Examples of Effective Feedback

For Surface-Level Analysis:

"You've summarized what happened. Now analyze WHY it happened and WHO benefited. The Crown didn't confiscate land by accident—it was deliberate policy to enable Pākehā settlement. Show me you understand the power structures."

For Missing Māori Voices:

"You've written a lot ABOUT Māori, but I don't hear Māori speaking for themselves. Find primary sources: speeches, petitions, oral histories. Let Māori tell their own story."

For False Balance:

"You wrote 'both sides had valid points.' But one side was defending their land; the other was taking it. That's not a 'both sides' issue. Take a stance: was land confiscation just or unjust? Defend your position with evidence."

For Strong Critical Work:

"Excellent analysis. You named the Crown as the aggressor, showed Māori resistance as strategic (not just reactive), and questioned why our textbooks frame this as 'conflict' instead of 'colonization.' This is the critical thinking I'm looking for."

Remember:

  • Your assessment practices teach as much as your curriculum. If you claim to teach decolonization but assess using colonial standards, students learn the colonial standards matter more.
  • Not all perspectives are equal. Colonizers and colonized don't have "two sides"—one has power, the other resists it.
  • Māori students' lived experiences are valid knowledge. Don't require them to cite academic sources to "prove" what they know from whānau.
  • Pākehā students' discomfort with colonial history is not a reason to soften your assessment. Growth requires discomfort.
  • When in doubt, ask: "Does my feedback help students think more critically about power, or does it reinforce colonial ways of knowing?"