We need to make sure Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum is achieving its intended goals, so it’s being independently evaluated to look at how it’s implemented and how students are progressing as a result.

We will use insights from these findings to support teachers, enhance teaching practices, and inform future decisions relating to the curriculum.

Two complementary studies will be carried out by independent experts between 2023 and 2026.

This study tracks national student achievement and provides insights designed to enhance teaching practice and inform policy makers.

It is run by the University of Otago and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, and is an update of the former National Monitoring Study for Student Achievement (NMSSA).

It will track the progress and achievement of students in Years 3, 6 and 8 across all eight learning areas. It has three components:

• School visits – trained teachers visit schools across the country to administer assessment tasks and collect information on how students are progressing across the learning areas.
• Cohorts – online assessments are used to track cohorts of students to understand pace and progress in literacy and numeracy across Years 3, 6 and 8.
• Rapid research – a panel of schools provide information quickly, helping explain student progress and achievement, enabling the study to be nimble and responsive.

This study looks at how well Te Mātaiaho is being implemented.

The Education Review Office will run this in partnership with us over three years, focusing on: 

• Implementation – how well the curriculum is being implemented and teacher understanding of Te Mātaiaho.
• Design aims – whether Te Mātaiaho is meeting its aim of giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and being inclusive, clear and easy to use.
• Impacts – the difference the refresh is making for teachers, learners and whanau.

Schools are currently being approached by ERO to participate in the study.