Government announces new school assessment, reporting tools

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford spoke this afternoon about assessment and reporting changes for students at school.

Stanford said this year would mark the start of “nationally consistent assessment and reporting” in primary and intermediate schools, which she believed would give parents a clearer picture of their child’s learning and progress.

The intent of the new reporting approach, which will be supported by twice-yearly progress check-ins, is to give parents reliable, easy to understand information about students’ progress in reading, writing and maths, as well as attendance information and guidance on their next steps.

Parents of students in Years 0–10 will receive:

• One of five clear progress markers describing learning progress
• An explanation of why that progress marker was chosen and how parents can support next learning steps
• Information on progress over time and attendance
• Information on phonics achievement and twice-yearly progress check-ins

The five progress indicators are:

• Emerging (Me hāpai ako)
• Developing (Kua koke whakamua)
• Consolidating (Whakatōpū)
• Proficient (Kua tutuki)
• Exceeding (Kua hipa rawa)

The Government said this is a response to expert advice, including calls from the likes of the Education Review Office (ERO) and the New Zealand Assessment Institute (NZAI) for improved assessment practices and higher-quality reporting to parents.

“For too long, New Zealand has lacked consistent, reliable information on how students are progressing in the basics,” Stanford said.

“Both ERO and the Assessment Institute have been clear that without nationally consistent assessment and reporting, parents can be left without the information they need, and the system cannot respond early when children need support. We are acting on that advice.”

The new system has been trialled in 85 schools with about 12,000 student assessment engagements. The feedback has been positive, according to the Government.

The two progress check-ins will be for students in Year 3-8 supported by a new monitoring tool called SMART. These will align with mid-year and end-of-year reporting.

“The SMART tool is a low-stakes, light-touch way to support consistent assessment,” Stanford said.

“It is not designed to replace teacher judgement. Teachers will continue to use their professional expertise, drawing on classroom work, observations and assessments.

“These tools support that judgement and help ensure parents receive clear, consistent information.”