Our research

Ā Mātou Rangahau

In this section of our website you'll find our education system evaluations, effective practice reports, resources and guides. These are produced by Te Ihuwaka | Education Evaluation Centre and Te Pou Mataaho | Evaluation and Research Māori.

Read more about Te Ihuwaka | Education Evaluation Centre.

Read more about Te Pou Mataaho | Evaluation and Research Māori.

Read about the questions we are asking.

There are 390 research articles.
  • NCEA Level 1

    In 2024, changes to NCEA Level 1 were rolled out nationwide. Leaving school with a qualification leads to better life outcomes, so ensuring Aotearoa New Zealand’s qualifications work well is essential for the success of our young people. ERO reviewed NCEA Level 1 to find out how fair and reliable it is, if it is helping students make good choices, how motivating and manageable it is for students, and the impacts of recent changes. We also explored how valued it is and how implementation has gone so far.

  • Left behind: How do we get our chronically absent students back to school?

    Chronic absence has doubled in the last decade. In Term 2 this year, over 80,000 students missed more than three weeks of school.  These chronically absent students (70 percent or less of the time) are often struggling and are at high risk of poor education and lifetime outcomes. The Education Review Office (ERO) looked at how good the education system and supports are for chronic absence in Aotearoa New Zealand and found that we do not have a strong enough system or effective supports to address chronic absence. 

  • Let’s keep talking: Oral language development in the early years

    Language is the foundation for children’s learning and success. Children use oral language to become good thinkers and communicators, and to develop the literacy skills they need to achieve well in school and beyond. This report draws together a range of evidence to look at how well children are developing the oral language skills they need when they start school. We also look at how Early Childhood Education (ECE) can help children to develop these important skills, and recommendations for action.

  • Preparing and Supporting New Principals

    More than a third of our principals have less than five years’ experience in the role, and it’s important that they are set up for success. ERO looked at pathways and supports for new principals. We make a range of recommendations to improve how new and aspiring principals can be set up for success. 

  • An Alternative Education? Support for our most disengaged young people

    Each year, Alternative Education provides education to over 2,000 young people who have been disengaged from education and who have high and complex needs. Many are exposed to crime, violence, and trauma, and just under a third have a mental health need. Almost two in five have been referred to attendance services and one in four have been suspended.

    The Education Review Office (ERO), in partnership with the Social Wellbeing Agency (SWA), has looked at how well the education system is supporting young people in Alternative Education.

  • Learning in a Covid-19 World

    The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on life in New Zealand. Since the start of the pandemic, ERO has been undertaking work to understand the impact of Covid-19 on education in New Zealand. This suite of work looks at the impact of Covid-19 on learners, teachers, leaders and kaiako across the schooling and early learning sector in New Zealand - and sets out recommendations for going forward. 

  • Responding to Diverse Cultures

    Aotearoa is more ethnically and culturally diverse than ever before, and good education isn’t one-size-fits-all. Culturally responsive teaching affirms and builds on children’s cultures, identity and languages to achieve successful learning outcomes. This work explores what culturally responsive teaching look like in practice and how schools and services can support good practice. 

  • Attendance in New Zealand

    Going to school is critical for our children’s futures. The evidence is clear that every day of school matters, missing school leads to lower achievement.  In New Zealand, learners are expected to attend school every day the school is open. And yet many don’t. New Zealand has lower attendance than other countries and alarmingly attendance is falling.

    To understand what is happening to attendance in New Zealand, the Education Review Office (ERO) looked at parents’ and learners’ attitudes, choices, and experiences.

  • Supporting teacher aides to have the most impact

    Teacher aides in Aotearoa New Zealand have a wide range of valued roles and responsibilities. We know that they can enhance learner outcomes by drawing on positive relationships, good training, collaborative practices, and cultural expertise. But we also know that teacher aides can’t do their best work without good support from their schools.

  • Education for disabled learners in New Zealand

    Receiving a quality education, from early childhood education (ECE) through to secondary school, positively affects how well all children and young people do at school and in life – from academic achievement and earning potential to health and wellbeing. Education is even more critical for disabled learners. When disabled learners receive a quality, inclusive education they are more likely to achieve better outcomes, to complete secondary schooling and to go on to further study and employment.

  • Starting school together

    Traditionally New Zealand children started school on their fifth birthday. Recently some schools have changed this to children starting school in scheduled groups.  Our latest report on starting school has found that children starting school at the same time, called cohort entry, can have many benefits for children, whānau and schools. 

  • Improvement in Action – Te Ahu Whakamua

    The collection of videos and publications is called Improvement in Action and illustrates what works to achieve successful outcomes for all children and young people in the education system.

    The video sequences bring to life ERO’s School Evaluation Indicators. 

  • Responding to the Covid-19 Crisis

    The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on all aspects of life around the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand, significant disruption to schooling occurred in 2020 and 2021 due to national and local lockdowns, school closures, and from the ongoing uncertainty caused by Covid-19. These publications look at how schools and the system can respond to Covid-19. 

  • Learning in Residential Care

    Children and young people who are placed in Oranga Tamariki residential care are among the most at risk of poor outcomes later in life. The education students receive in residence has the power to reconnect them to their learning and change their lives. ERO reviewed how well education is going in these settings. This suite of work describes what we found out about the quality of education in residences and what is needed to significantly improve education for these priority learners.

  • Teaching Science

    Critical to science education is the quality of teaching science in schools and early learning services. To support and improve science teaching in New Zealand, ERO has explored how schools and services can strengthen their science teaching and learning. This series of reports identifies where schools and services are doing well, and highlights how schools and services could increase the impact of their science teaching and learning. 

  • Measuring Change in Education Systems

    Measuring changes to education systems, let alone performance, is complex. With education systems consisting of many moving parts, there are multiple approaches to assessing education system performance across the world, reflecting the reality of this complexity. These publications explore global practice for measuring education system change.

  • Exploring collaboration in action

    There is a growing body of research which shows that schools who work together are more effective in improving the quality of teaching and student learning, and in supporting school development. This series of reports sets out learnings from examples of schools collaborating and working together. 

  • Published: 26 Nov 2024

    Set up to succeed – How well is NCEA Level 1 working for our schools and students?

    ERO reviewed NCEA Level 1 to find out how fair and reliable it is, if it is helping students make good choices, how motivating and manageable it is for students, and the impacts of recent changes. We also explored how valued it is and how implementation has gone so far. This summary sets out what we looked and how, and the key findings and recommendations.

  • Published: 30 Oct 2024

    Left behind: How do we get our chronically absent students back to school?

    Chronic absence has doubled in the last decade. The Education Review Office (ERO) looked at how good the education system and supports are for chronic absence in Aotearoa New Zealand and found that we do not have a strong enough system or effective supports to address chronic absence. 

  • Published: 10 Sep 2024

    Someone to talk to: Evaluation of Counselling in Schools - Counselling

    The Education Review Office looked at the effectiveness of Counselling in Schools, how well it reached the students it is targeted at, the impact it had, and some lessons for counselling programmes in the future. We found that counselling improves students’ mental health, and we also saw some encouraging signs of improved learning and wellbeing more widely.