Source: New Zealand Government
Students returning to school this week will benefit from a significant change designed to give parents clearer, more consistent information about how their children are progressing at school.
2026 marks the first year of nationally consistent assessment and reporting in primary and intermediate schools, giving parents a clearer picture of their child’s learning and progress, no matter which school they attend.
“Parents have long called for clearer, more detailed reporting on academic achievement, and this new framework delivers that clarity. It supports parents to understand their child’s progress over time and to be active partners in their learning,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
This year, schools will begin using a nationally consistent reporting approach supported by twice-yearly progress check-ins. Together, these changes will ensure parents receive reliable, easy-to-understand information about progress in reading, writing and maths, alongside attendance information and guidance on next learning steps.
Parents are key partners in their children’s learning. To play that role well, they need information that is consistent, meaningful, and comparable over time. The new approach ensures families receive clear and detailed reporting regardless of which school their child attends.
The changes respond directly to expert advice and long-standing concerns about assessment and reporting. For years, the Education Review Office (ERO) and the New Zealand Assessment Institute (NZAI) have called for improved assessment practices and higher-quality reporting to parents.
“For too long, New Zealand has lacked consistent, reliable information on how students are progressing in the basics,” Ms Stanford says.
“Both ERO and the Assessment Institute have been clear that without nationally consistent assessment and reporting, parents can be left without the information they need, and the system cannot respond early when children need support. We are acting on that advice.”
“We are focusing on rich, detailed data that informs progress over time and gives clarity to enable action and support across all levels – between parents, schools, the Ministry and sector. This aligns with NZAI’s reporting, including that ‘assessment information is essential at all tiers of the education system’ and ‘contributes to improvement throughout the system’.
“ERO’s reporting on assessment has also highlighted key practices in effective schools, noting that while use of these is increasing, it is still not universal in all schools. We are acting to ensure students, and the sector at all levels are supported with nationally consistent information on learning progress.”
The new approach replaces an assessment system more than 20 years old and has been developed following consultation with principals’ associations and teachers, and trialling in 85 schools involving around 12,000 student assessment engagements. Feedback from participating schools has been positive.
Under the new reporting framework, parents of students in Years 0–10 will receive nationally consistent reporting across reading, writing and maths, including:
- One of five clear progress markers describing learning progress
- An explanation of why that progress marker was chosen and how parents can support next learning steps
- Information on progress over time and attendance
- Information on phonics achievement and twice-yearly progress check-ins
Reporting on other learning areas, values and behaviour will continue as it does now. Many schools already provide strong reporting and may continue using their existing templates where these meet the new expectations.
The second part of the change is the introduction of twice-yearly progress check-ins for students in Years 3–8, supported by the new SMART progress monitoring tool.
“The SMART tool is a low-stakes, light-touch way to support consistent assessment,” Ms Stanford says.
“It is not designed to replace teacher judgement. Teachers will continue to use their professional expertise, drawing on classroom work, observations and assessments. These tools support that judgement and help ensure parents receive clear, consistent information.”
The progress check-ins will align with mid-year and end-of-year reporting, helping parents see how their child is tracking across the year, not just at a single point in time.
Consistent, high-quality information across schools will also help better target support for students. This year, the Government is rolling out structured literacy and maths intervention teachers, expanding early intervention services, providing an additional 800,000 teacher aide hours, and introducing hundreds of new learning support coordinators and specialist staff.
“Our government is ambitious for every child,” Ms Stanford says.
“These changes ensure parents are better informed, teachers are supported, and students get help earlier when they need it. That is how we lift achievement and ensure every child can reach their potential.”
“I wish all students and teachers the very best as they return to school this year.”