Summarised by Centrist
The government is moving to reform the struggling education system by introducing standardised reading, writing, and maths tests for Years 3-10, but some principals are resisting change.
The Ministry of Education has called for proposals to develop a single national assessment system.
It would replace the current mix of Progressive Assessment Tests (PATs) and Electronic Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning tests (e-asTTle, an online test for years 4–10 that assesses reading, writing, and maths), which officials say are outdated.
Principals’ Federation president Leanne Otene claims the move was a “total surprise” and worries that the new tests could come from a foreign provider with “no knowledge of New Zealand schools or culture.”
However, with literacy and numeracy rates declining, the government argues that clearer, more reliable data on student achievement is needed.
Acting deputy secretary Pauline Cleaver defended the decision, saying e-asTTle “had technical limitations and that the content does not align to current curriculum expectations.” She described the new assessment tool as a vital “lever” to improve student achievement and close the equity gap.
The Education Review Office previously found that only about half of schools were even using national assessments, leaving major gaps in tracking student progress.
Critics fear a “one-size-fits-all” approach, with the New Zealand Council for Educational Research warning that an over-reliance on testing could lead to “a narrowed curriculum” and test-driven teaching.
The cost of the new system remains unclear, but the aim is to create a modern, dual-language tool for both English and te reo Māori learners.
