Most New Zealand primary teachers are well aware of the National Standards assessment system that has followed during the last three terms of government in New Zealand and the controversies surrounding it. Teachers draw on a range of quantitative and qualitative evidence to make "Overall Teacher Judgements" (OTJs) about primary school achievement. In this article, the author considers how teachers might judge the National Standards system these days and also how the policy might be understood more generally. These are important questions coming up to the 2017 election because the National Standards system has been such a central feature of the current Government's approach to education. Teachers will be aware of teacher and principal colleagues who are supportive of National Standards while others are much less so. Conflicting views amongst teachers and principals about the value of the National Standards is also apparent from a recent New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) national survey (Bonne, 2016). School websites indicate diverse views as well. There are some primary school websites that reflect enthusiasm about National Standards and some that barely mention them.