Our research

This short guide is for parents of children in early childhood education, and of school-aged children. It covers that we learnt from talking to schools and early childhood education services in 2020 about the impact of Covid-19. It also sets out some recommendations for how parents can continue to support their child’s learning this year.

This short guide is for early childhood education leaders and kaiako. It covers what we found from talking to services in 2020 about the impact of Covid-19, and shares strategies used by services to respond to the challenges they faced. It also sets out some actions that could be considered for continuing to support children, parents, whānau and staff in 2021.

Early childhood education services had to quickly adapt to changing requirements and periods of uncertainty due to Covid-19. During lockdown, services had to transition to supporting children to learn from their homes. After lockdown, they had to support children to return to services and continue their learning in a Covid-19 world. This summary highlights the efforts of early childhood services to support students and their whānau.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption for students across New Zealand, due to lockdowns, social distancing and ongoing uncertainty. The Education Review Office interviewed 750 schools and surveyed over 2500 principals and teachers across the country, from May through to September 2020, to understand how they have responded. This summary highlights how schools have supported students and their whānau in the face of Covid-19.

Research evidence shows early in a child’s life is a critical time in terms of the rapid language development that takes place, particularly in the first two to three years.

This evaluation investigated how effectively young children’s oral language learning and development were supported in their early years of education.

Strong connections between schools and parents and whānau are essential to accelerating the achievement of our kids, particularly those at risk of underachieving. This booklet helps parents, families and whānau to form effective relationships and educationally powerful connections. 

ERO evaluated how well 35 secondary schools were using Vocational Pathways. While most schools knew about and were using the pathways, they were not fully realising the initiative’s potential. Vocational Pathways can be a valued part of a school’s curriculum for all students when used as more than just an add-on to careers education or course selection processes.  

The report examines how well 15 of New Zealand's Secondary-Tertiary Programmes (STPs or Trades Academies) are meeting the needs of students at risk of not staying or succeeding in education.

The report focuses on good practice and showcases 10 secondary schools with high quality careers education. It identifies factors that contribute to high quality careers education and guidance in New Zealand secondary schools.

These booklets have been written for everyone who parents a child - those who have care and responsibility for children attending a school. The booklets include questions you can ask, as well as general information that you may find useful. Click on the booklet to read and download.

Your child's education is an overview of education in New Zealand, from early childhood education through to secondary school. The information and questions are a useful insight into what education looks like in New Zealand and the opportunities available to your child.

This report discusses secondary schools where Pacific learners are achieving at or above the national norms for all students. It includes details of initiatives and good practice and how these work together to get great results.

This report follows on from ERO’s 2012 report on careers education, Careers Information, Advice, Guidance and Education (CIAGE) in Secondary Schools. This second report investigates how well 74 secondary schools have prepared their students for future opportunities in education, training and employment.

From Education to Employment is about how you and the school can help prepare your child for life beyond school. It will be useful for parents, families, trustees and students at secondary school.

ERO guides for parents have been written for everyone who parents a child - those who have care and responsibility for children attending a school. The booklets include questions you can ask, as well as general information that you may find useful. Click on the booklet to read and download.

KiwiSport is a government initiative established in 2009 to increase opportunities for school-aged children to participate in organised sport. This report presents the findings of a questionnaire ERO gave to schools about the impact of KiwiSport funding.

This ERO report is part of a series of reports being published over three years about aspects of the implementation of the National Standards in English-medium schools, with students in Years 1 to 8. The report focuses on schools’ progress with reporting to parents in relation to the National Standards.

This is ERO’s first national report on CIAGE since The Quality of Career Education and Guidance in Schools in 2006. In this evaluation ERO examined the approach of 44 secondary schools to CIAGE.

This is ERO's third report on the progress of schools in promoting Pacific student achievement. It tells a similar story to ERO's two previous reports with little evidence of system-wide improvement.

This report discusses the performance of 16 service academies funded by the Ministry of Education. These are located at 16 predominantly low decile secondary schools across the country.

Kiwisport is a government initiative aimed at increasing opportunities for school-aged children to participate in organised sport.

In Terms 2 and 3, 2010, the Education Review Office evaluated the use primary and secondary schools made of Kiwisport funding, and the benefits and challenges of the initiative identified by schools.

Early childhood education has been an important focus for the Education Review Office for over 20 years. This report uses findings from ERO's national evaluations of early childhood education and individual services' education reviews to highlight the factors that contribute to high quality early childhood education and care, as well as those that contribute to poor quality. The report provides a good starting point for further discussion for anyone involved in early childhood education including education providers, policy makers and teachers.