The PM Benchmark Reading Assessment Resource (PM Benchmarks) provides information about primary students’ level of achievement in reading accurately, fluently, and in understanding unseen texts. As part of the assessment, students have to orally retell what they have read and orally answer comprehension questions. This oral use of language assesses ...

Evaluating information quality is a key skill students need to develop as they navigate the complex information landscape. Students need to develop an awareness of effective ways to evaluate information given the abundance of information (and misinformation) available online. This article introduces the Rauru Whakarare Evaluation Framework, which offers a ...

Socio-scientific issues (SSIs) are real-life problems which have a scientific basis yet require the consideration of social concerns. Using SSIs has been advocated as an approach to engage secondary-school students with science and this study aimed to explore the potential of such an approach in the primary-school classroom. The experiences ...

This article is based on a case study conducted within a newly established Year 7 and Year 8 innovative learning environment (ILE). Drawing on the voices of students and teachers, this article explores ways teachers and students learnt together, collectively moulding a suitable fit for mathematics learning within their ILE ...

Inspired by my research into the government-sponsored Curriculum Review Committee of the mid-1980s, this article considers the possibilities of the Treaty of Waitangi as a “warm idea” for educators. Composed mainly of teachers, the committee was responsible for writing the Treaty into a national curriculum principle for the first time ...

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of student agency when applied to learning across The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007). To explore agency the author presents and describes a range of teaching pedagogies that are based on principles of intrinsic motivation. The author describes ...

PISA will be in the news again this year. The 2018 results are due to be released at the end of 2019 and they usually generate media interest. This Rangahau Whakarāpopoto is a research brief which outlines things to watch out for as you think about what the results might ...

This Assessment News article introduces readers to a statistical approach to making sense of student assessment data in order to help teachers understand whether or not changes in practice have made a difference to learning. It Worked! is the brainchild of Darcy Fawcett, HoD Science at Gisborne Boys’ High School ...

This article describes one aspect of an 2 year inquiry project (August 2016–July 2018) which brought together 18 experienced teachers from four Christchurch secondary schools as well as teachers in the University of Canterbury’s transition programme (Student Transitions and Engagement) to collaborate and share ideas about discipline-specific literacy as a ...