The Science engagement survey is an online tool to help teachers find out how students perceive their science learning in class. There are two versions of the survey: one for Years 0 to 4 and one for Years 5 to 10.

This tool will give schools information about their students’ engagement with science and their perceptions of the learning opportunities that have been provided for them. It provides a useful starting point for designing a science programme that is responsive to students’ interests and needs.

The Science Engagement survey is free to use

There is no charge to use the Science engagement survey. At NZCER we are interested in the sorts of science related learning experiences happening in our primary and early secondary schools. While your school's data will always remain absolutely confidential to your school, we may use aggregated data from all schools to obtain a clearer picture of what's happening and where the gaps are. This information will be used to benefit science education in New Zealand. As there is something in it for us, we provide the survey free.

How to access the Science Engagement survey

If your school is already subscribed to NZCER Assist, you can log in and create a Science Engagement survey as you would for any PAT assessment. 

• Log in to NZCER Assist and select 'Science engagement survey'
• Click 'Activate Access' button the first time to get started.
• Click 'Add new survey group' and enter a class name, the term and the year level of your students, then click 'Add'. You will need to create a separate survey group for each year level in your class.
• Preview the survey you have created by clicking on the blue computer-screen icon under the heading 'Demo'.
• Go back to the Science survey page. In the ‘survey group’ you have created, you will find the survey token which is the password each class member will need to access the survey.
• To do the survey, students type in the survey URL (http://www.nzceronline.org.nz/) and enter the survey token for their class.
• The site administrator can view the class reports as soon as the students have completed the survey. Simply click on the 'Reports' tab on the top black tool bar and the 'Item Report' icon for the class you wish to view.

If your school is not subscribed to NZCER Assist, you’ll need to contact our Assessment Services team to get set up. You will not need to pay anything if you are only subscribing for the Science engagement survey.

• Visit NZCER Assist
• Click on the 'Subscribe' button and complete the registration form, selecting ‘Science engagement survey’.
• You will receive an email with your administrator username and password. Log in with your username and password.  
• From here, the process is the same as above.

For more information or assistance, contact either our Assessment Services team or our Education Advisors for workshops to support your use of the survey.