Thirty schools evaluated as part of a report into how national standards are being implemented are refusing to take part in the framework because they are opposed to it.
The Education Review Office report found 84 schools of the 439 assessed were not working with all the requirements of the standards.
It said of the 54 schools not opposed to the standards there was a lack of understanding by school leaders about the nature and intent of the standards and limited assessment of the standards.
"It is disappointing that there were 84 schools in which leaders and teachers were not successfully using the standards to ascertain how well students were achieving in reading, writing and mathematics.
"Parents who have children attending these schools do not know how their child is achieving in relation to others of a similar age," it said.
The Working with National Standards to Promote Students' Progress and Achievement report found 22 percent of schools were working well with the standards which measured reading, writing and mathematics competency.
Another 59 percent were "developing their systems and processes" to work with the standards.
The report said where there was strong leadership in schools they were working well with the standards but it was absent in the schools not meeting expectations.
"In many of these schools, leadership is lacking, staff turnover is high and considerable work remains to be done in curriculum and assessment developments," it said.
The controversial standards were introduced into schools teaching children from years one to eight in 2010.
NZN