This report describes the competencies of 307 children in the Wellington region, just before they started school.

It shows how the children scored for 6 'being' competencies - communication, curiosity, perseverance, social skills with peers, social skills with adults, and individual responsibility - and for 4 'doing' competencies - literacy, mathematics, logical problem-solving, and motor skills.

The results show that low family income is the main factor associated with lower ...

The purpose of this research study is to contribute to an understanding of what is required to enhance the assessment capability of tertiary education providers of learning in literacy, numeracy, and language.

The research began with the development of six broad principles of good assessment practice in foundation learning settings. These principles were derived from the relevant research literature combined with ideas expressed by key informants in the sector. The ...

The Competent Children project, funded by the Ministry of Education and NZCER, follows a group of about 500 New Zealand children from near age 5, when they were in early childhood education, through until they leave school.

This is the second report in NZCER’s three-year study of effective New Zealand schools’ financial decisionmaking. This study is funded by the NZ School Trustees’ Association.

It is based on interviews with principals and board representatives of 17 schools, together with analysis of the schools’ financial data. Material from NZCER’s 2003 national survey is also used in the report.

Read about the first report, How do effective schools manage their finances?

This background paper is the first part of a three-stage project on Workplace Learning Assessment Structures. The overall purpose of the project is to explore the different models of workplace learning assessment used around the world and by Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) in New Zealand, and to consider the kinds of arrangements that are, and could be, used to support workplace assessors in their assessment role. ITO leadership in arranging and supporting ...

In 2005, the MOE and the NZQA began a pilot programme to trial the use of the latest generation of calculators which included Computer Algebraic Systems (CAS) capabilities.  The intent was to give quality professional development to effectively use CAS in the classrooms and to eventually allow the calculators in CAS-enabled NCEA assessments in the same way that graphics calculators are currently used.

NZCER evaluated an extension of the pilot ...

This report is the third in the Education Employment Linkages (EEL) Research Report series. It attempts to “map” or document some of the important dimensions of the various systems involved in young people’s transition from school.

We use the term “mapping” metaphorically, as a way of arranging sets of ideas and continuing to lay out a plan of research. Although our subject matter is of course not actually geographical, the ...

This paper draws on the insights gained from documenting the journeys undertaken by six Normal Schools as they integrated the new Key Competencies (KCs) framework from the draft revised curriculum into their teaching and learning programmes.

This paper discusses some of the challenges the schools faced. The issues explored include:

• creating a shared understanding of the KCs between staff and students
• creating space to foreground the KCs
• findings ways to ...

NZCER has made a submission to the Ministry of Education as part of the consultation on the introduction of national standards for literacy and numeracy. It follows an earlier position paper on national standards written in November.

The Zooming in on Learning in the Digital Age (ZILDA) research programme aims to 'zoom in' - or dig down deeper - into issues surrounding 'digital age learning'.

The goal of the first phase of the ZILDA research was to zoom in on the views and experiences of 'digital age learners'. We wanted to know:

• Could we engage a group of young New Zealanders in an exploration of what it ...