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 159 research articles.
  • Audience: Education
  • 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. 

  • 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: 04 Sep 2017

    Improvement in action

    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.

  • Published: 12 Feb 2016

    Effective Internal Evaluation for Improvement

    This booklet is useful for any organisation interested in internal evaluation for improvement. This overview of the processes and reasoning involved in effective internal evaluation for improvement draws on a previously published resource Effective School Evaluation – How to do and use internal evaluation for improvement (2015).

  • Published: 10 May 2021

    Collaboration in Action: Lessons from a Community of Practice

    This short report accompanies our report Exploring Collaboration in Action: Kahukura Community of Practice.  It looks at the lessons that can be learnt from the Kahukura community of practice, drawing out key lessons on collaboration and providing seven key implications for schools who are interested in collaborating to consider.

  • Published: 10 May 2021

    Exploring Collaboration in Action: Kahukura Community of Practice

    ERO was approached by principals from Kahukura to document and evaluate their community of practice in Christchurch. This report identifies what is working well for this community of practice, areas where they might consider further enhancements, and lessons and insights into practices which could be shared with others.

  • Published: 18 Dec 2015

    Raising student achievement through targeted actions

    In 2015, ERO investigated target setting in both primary and secondary schools. We focused on the extent to which targeted actions of schools supported accelerated progress for students at risk of not achieving.

  • Published: 10 Dec 2013

    Improving Guidance and Counselling for Students in Secondary Schools

    The Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health Project aims to improve the mental health of young people aged 12 to 19 years. One initiative of this project is a national evaluation of the current provision of guidance and counselling in schools.

    The Education Review Office (ERO) evaluated how well 44 schools and five wharekura provided guidance and counselling for students.

  • 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. 

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Published: 29 Sep 2021

    Internal evaluation as a catalyst for change

    This resource draws on recent Education Review Office (ERO) national evaluation reports to highlight how schools, both primary and secondary, have been evaluating teaching and learning and then using the findings to improve outcomes for students. ERO found that schools that significantly improved outcomes for students based their priorities for action on the findings from high-quality internal evaluation.

  • Published: 31 May 2013

    Accelerating student achievement: a resource for schools

    This resource can be used with the School Evaluation Indicators. It brings together findings from ERO’s recent national reports to outline what works to accelerate progress for Māori students at-risk of underachieving in primary schools. We share approaches schools have taken where progress was accelerated and schools were able to extend their practices to help more students succeed. Innovative schools focus on inequity within their student population, resulting in improved outcomes for Māori students.

  • Published: 19 Jan 2021

    Learning in a Covid-19 World: Supporting Secondary School Engagement

    This report explains strategies for supporting secondary students’ engagement during the Covid19 pandemic. These strategies include re-engaging students who present with wellbeing concerns or show signs of disengagement. The report also includes some innovative actions schools used to promote student engagement after the first lockdown in 2020.

  • Published: 21 Feb 2023

    Attendance - Getting back to school: A guide for secondary school teachers

    We wanted to find out what the biggest drivers for secondary learners not attending are, and what works well to motivate them to turn up to class. In this guide we share findings from our research, as well as some key actions that secondary school teachers and leaders can take to support better attendance. 

  • Published: 02 Apr 2019

    Collaboration in practice: insights into implementation

    This case study report features experiences of three Kāhui Ako and includes the strategies and approaches used to create, build, and strengthen collaboration between schools and early learning services to improve outcomes for learners.