News & Events

Kia ora koutou!

My name is James Townshend, and I am leading the NZSL PLD for Teachers Project at Ko Taku Reo - Deaf Education NZ.

As part of delivering quality Professional Learning and Development (PLD) in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and Deaf Bilingual practices for teachers, pre and post-assessment data is important to help us know where to start and to measure the progress and outcomes of this PLD. We are delighted to partner with SignTree, which has supported this crucial assessment element of our project work.

Kia ora koutou!

My name is Rachel Rasmussen, and I am the Service Manager at SignTree. SignTree has been contracted by the Ministry of Education to assess up to 200 teachers with the NZSL Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI).

Since August 2025, SignTree has been providing all teachers and teaching leaders with an SLPI interview. In just over two months, we completed about 180 interviews and are now working through all the 360 ratings, moderation and summary reports.

Why 360 ratings? Each teacher is rated by two different assessors to ensure consistency and accuracy. Assessors watch the 20-minute interview video once and complete their ratings independently; they don’t know who else is rating the teacher’s NZSL proficiency. After ratings are submitted, I review them and share the ratings with a moderator who checks if the 2 ratings align or need to be revised by the assessors to create a final rating. Revision is done through a moderation meeting, where both assessors discuss their identified language features and come to an agreement on the final level. After this, the moderator checks then approves the final rating.

I prepare the summary rating report, including feedback comments from assessors for each teacher. It’s a detailed process, and I want to give a big shout-out to the SignTree Assessor team for their hard work and commitment to providing correct ratings.

James
The data from these individual reports and SLPI levels gives Ko Taku Reo a snapshot of receptive and expressive NZSL use by our teachers, helps us with workforce planning and specific areas to provide PLD and feedback to lift New Zealand Sign Language and Bilingual Bicultural Teaching Practices at Ko Taku Reo.

We are so grateful to have a highly professional and independent assessment organisation like SignTree partnering with us in this very valuable work. The positive approach taken by the organisers and assessors at SignTree has made the teacher assessment process smooth and supportive. Thank you so much, Rachel and the team at SignTree.

Rachel
Supporting NZSL proficiency among teachers is a team effort, and we’re proud to work in genuine partnership with Ko Taku Reo and the NZSL PLD project.
Language learning takes time, patience, and commitment — and through this collaboration, we’ve seen how a supportive approach can build confidence and proficiency. Together, we’re helping teachers grow their NZSL skills so they can better connect with Deaf learners and their whānau.

James
Thank you again Rachel - Ka kite ano!