In New Zealand secondary schools, both students and teachers frequently express frustration with the challenges of achieving the highest level of success—Excellence—in the statistical mathematics standards assessed through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). A central criterion for attaining Excellence is the demonstration of insight, a term that ...

Having conversations about student data helps teachers make the most of the information they collect. This article outlines a structured way to talk about data: the data conversation protocol. This conversation tool provides a protocol that teachers can use to critically engage with the student data they have as part ...

This Assessment News article examines the role of measurement error in standardised tests and what it means for progress measures. Charles Darr explains that standardised test scores and the progress trajectories we infer from them do not necessarily reflect a student’s true achievement level. Measurement error is the normal day-to-day ...

Carolin Dale wondered whether she created enough opportunities for her English-language learners to challenge themselves as they used English orally in her classroom. She decided to find out. She started by investigating whether she was taking up too much of the “speaking time”. As a result of what she discovered ...

Although the existing literature has always established strong ties between student motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes, few studies have focused on the motivation and engagement of Māori and Pasifika students. Also, large-scale quantitative and qualitative studies that focus solely on the views of Māori and Pasifika learners (i.e., not compared ...

Euro-Western schooling systems often sideline play, or when learning through play is valued, it is rarely recognised as a Maaori way of knowing. In te ao Maaori, however, play is woven through identity, wairua, and whakapapa. Drawing on my puuraakau and the koorero of my tumuaki, Te Haumoana Biddle, this ...

As the Aotearoa New Zealand Government reforms increasingly challenge the place of play in primary education, this study offers timely insights into the experiences, perceptions, and practices of four new entrant teachers who are successfully implementing play-based learning in four Auckland schools. This small, qualitative study highlights that play-based learning ...

This article shares findings from an 18-month research project at Te Whai Hiringa, a primary school in Hawke’s Bay, where over 90% of learners identify as Māori, or Pacific peoples. The project explored how play-based learning and culturally sustaining pedagogy can be integrated into a single, purposeful approach. Drawing on ...

Released in 2024, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report on creative thinking, Creative Minds, Creative Schools, ranked New Zealand 5th out of a total of 81 participating countries. This inaugural PISA study of creative thinking reflects a growing global interest in creativity as an essential competency. Creativity is ...