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A comprehensive and year-long econometric analysis of data for 400,000 students undertaken by The New Zealand Initiative reveals there are no significant differences in school performance between schools of different deciles. Adjusted for the different student populations they serve, the vast majority of New Zealand’s secondary schools create the education outcomes we would expect from them. Read more

Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the Education Poverty Reduction Bill. Read more

New Zealand’s education system is designed not to measure performance. How can we tell whether policies intended to boost student performance are successful, or how much academic achievement matters for later life outcomes, if we cannot measure it? Read more

Education is about learning. However, as assessment expert Alison Wolf explains: …formal education is also, and intrinsically, about selection and certification… ~ Wolf, A. Read more

The New Zealand Initiative is New Zealand's leading think tank. The Initiative produces accessible, evidence-based research (available in print and online) with a focus on policy areas we believe are vital for a free and prosperous New Zealand. Read more

Parents lucky enough to be able to choose among different schools weigh up schools’ deciles and NCEA performance. Unfortunately, neither of these necessarily show which would be the right choice for their children. Read more

All children deserve access to a quality schooling experience. Unfortunately, the Initiative’s reports show that New Zealand has a long way to go yet. Read more

Just over a decade ago, the government stopped charging interest on student loans. Before 2006, student loan debt drew interest after the borrower left school. Read more

It is hard to improve without knowing what better and worse performance look like. Teachers grade students, but who grades the graders? Read more

This report documents the 15-year history of the Numeracy Development Project (the Numeracy Project), a nationwide centrally devised approach for improving maths. The Numeracy Project existed officially as a professional development (PD) programme for teachers in most primary schools in New Zealand between 2000 and 2009. Read more