Our research

ERO has released a series of reports about the National Standards since their introduction in 2010. This latest report focuses on eight schools that are working well with the standards. 

In 2011, ERO evaluated the quality of science teaching and learning, its place within the curriculum and its relationship to literacy and numeracy teaching. The evaluation focused on Years 5 to 8 in 100 schools. This report documents the findings of this evaluation.

In this evaluation Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Education, ERO focused on the extent to which:

• services understood and valued the identity, language and culture of Māori children and their whānau, particularly when the child and whānau enter the service
• managers and educators built positive relationships with the whānau of Māori children; and
• each service worked in partnership with the whānau of Māori children. 

In November 2007, a revised curriculum was launched for use in New Zealand schools. The New Zealand Curriculum is a statement of official policy related to teaching and learning in English-medium schools in New Zealand. The requirement for schools to implement The New Zealand Curriculum came into effect on 1 February 2010.

ERO evaluated preparedness to work with the National Standards within The New Zealand Curriculum in 228 schools during Terms 1 and 2, 2010. ERO found that most schools were well prepared or had preparation under way, and in many cases the preparations focused on aligning existing benchmarks and expectations with the standards.

This Education Review Office (ERO) evaluation focused on how effectively reading and writing was taught in the first two years of schooling, and on how well teachers used assessment information to plan and evaluate their teaching.

This report complements ERO’s major evaluation, Partners in Learning: Schools’ Engagement with Parents, Whānau and Communities, published in May 2008. It presents case studies of eight schools, identified during ERO reviews, that were successful in engaging with their parents, whānau and the wider community. The report also discusses key factors that contribute to the success of this engagement.