National Assessment Strategy
Page links: Focus of the strategy | Assessing school performance | Assessing the performance of the education system | Video corner
The kind of teachers that I think are going to help me are the ones that help me as an individual and help me reach my goal.
Rotorua Lakes High School student
The Ministry of Education has a National Assessment Strategy that covers assessment of individual students, as well as schools and the education system.
Use the links on this page to find out about the focus of the strategy, and how the performance of schools and the education system as a whole is assessed.
Focus of the strategy
The strategy was launched in 1999. It recognises that assessment helps us to focus on teaching, learning, and student achievement within the classroom, schools, and nationally.
The National Assessment Strategy focuses on:
- using information to improve learning
- encouraging people to take an active role in learning
- setting specific and challenging goals with students
- developing high-quality assessment tools
- increasing teachers' knowledge of assessment
- using assessment information for strategic planning.
Assessing student achievement
Your child's learning will be assessed throughout their time in early childhood education and at primary and secondary school. Assessment gives teachers useful information about how well students are progressing, and what students need to do next to continue learning. Check out Assessment at school for more detail about how assessment works for students.
Assessing school performance
Schools provide the Ministry of Education with an annual strategic plan and an annual report that measures their progress against their plan. If you are choosing a new school, or are interested in the performance of your child's current school, you can ask the school for their strategic plan, annual report, and the ERO reports.
School review processes and Education Review Office (ERO) reports are used to evaluate the success of individual schools and their curriculum and teaching programmes. Boards of trustees, staff, and the school community are all interested in this information.
The Education Review Office (ERO) measures school performance with ERO reports. You can also get these from the schools themselves. ERO also has information about choosing a school.
In addition, you can learn a lot about a school by attending school performances, sports, swimming days, school fairs, and other activities.
Assessing the performance of the education system
Read about the national (NEMP) and international (TIMSS, PIRLS, and PISA) studies that the Ministry of Education uses to:
- compare the performance of New Zealand students with those overseas
- evaluate its progress towards raising achievement
- develop policy and make decisions about educational resources.
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How choosing a school has changedMary Chamberlain from the Ministry of Education looks at how criteria that parents use to choose schools has changed since the 1970s. |
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