Educational Evaluation and Assessment in New Zealand Strengths, Challenges and Policy Pointers

�� Evaluation and assessment build on a high degree of trust in students, teachers and school leaders

�� The improvement function of evaluation and assessment is strongly emphasised

�� Evaluation and assessment are responsive to diverse learner needs

�� There is a strong commitment to evidence-based policy and practice

�� Assessment is designed to improve learning

�� Assessment is grounded in teacher professionalism and supported by professional development

�� Teachers�� assessment practice is based on a range of sophisticated tools

�� National standards respond to a specific need in primary education

�� High quality assessment is well established in upper secondary education

�� Teaching standards are well established and teacher registration processes are in place

�� Teacher appraisal processes are commonplace in schools with a suitable focus on teacher development

�� Teachers are trusted professionals with a high degree of autonomy and are open to professional feedback

�� The principle of associating good performance to career progression is in place

�� The approach to school evaluation is collaborative

�� Self-review is at the heart of quality assurance and improvement and there is focus on building leadership capacity

�� ERO��s review approach is tailored to the needs of individual schools

�� There is a commitment to continuous improvement within the Review Office itself

�� There is a common accountability framework for the state sector

�� Clear education objectives and strategies at the national level are monitored over time

�� Nationally consistent information on student learning outcomes is available in primary and secondary education

�� There is commitment to using evaluation results and building policy on research evidence

�� Some components of the evaluation and assessment framework could be better aligned

�� Schools may be isolated in New Zealand��s highly devolved system

�� There are difficulties in creating coherence of practices across the system

�� Teacher capacities in relation to assessment are still variable in primary schools

�� There are concerns regarding the implementation of National Standards

�� There is room to optimise assessment for students from diverse backgrounds

�� The focus on assessment for learning is less pronounced in secondary education

�� Regular teacher appraisal as part of performance management is variable across schools

�� The two sets of teaching standards may send conflicting messages

�� There is room to improve links between teacher appraisal, professional development and school development

�� Career opportunities for effective teachers could be further developed

�� Resolving tensions between the improvement and accountability functions of school evaluation

�� Some schools struggle to collect and use assessment data effectively for improvement

�� School leadership and Boards of Trustees need stronger support to conduct effective school evaluation

�� Schools�� annual reporting is not well connected to other aspects of school evaluation

�� There are some remaining data gaps in the national monitoring system

�� The use of school reporting information could be further developed

�� There are uncertainties about schools�� reporting on standards

�� Further strengthen consistency between different components of evaluation and assessment

�� Consider establishing regional support structures to increase connectedness of schools

�� Continue to build school capacity in evaluation and assessment

�� Encourage systematic local approaches to evaluation and assessment

�� Continue to build and strengthen assessment capacity at all levels

�� Reinforce coherence and connectedness in the student assessment framework

�� Further develop and embed the National Standards within the New Zealand assessment system

�� Ensure equity in assessment

�� Consolidate teaching standards into a single set of standards

�� Align teaching standards with a competency-based career structure for teachers

�� Conceive teacher registration as career progression appraisal

�� Perform teachers�� developmental appraisal as part of performance management processes

�� Reinforce the linkages between teacher appraisal, professional development and school development

�� Maintain an emphasis on the improvement function of school evaluation

�� Continue to enhance school capacity in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data

�� Provide support and training for school leaders and Boards of Trustees

�� Revisit the nature and use of annual reporting

�� Continue to broaden the collection of data on diverse groups of students

�� Optimise the use of school reporting data for system improvement

�� Clarify the use of standards-referenced reporting in system monitoring

This summary of strengths, challenges and recommendations is drawn from OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: New Zealand, published in February 2012.

The full Country Review report and further information about the OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes are available on the project��s website: www.oecd.org/edu/evaluationpolicy.