Lifting Student Achievement in New Zealand: Evidence Brief
Treasury’s Advice on Lifting Student Achievement in New Zealand: Evidence Brief
March 2012
Treasury’s 2011 Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Finance (BIM) summarised Treasury’s current advice on education policy: New Zealand’s compulsory education system produces good outcomes for most students, as evidenced by our strong performance in international tests. However, despite large funding increases, achievement levels remain unacceptably low for some groups. Student achievement can be raised by improving the quality of teaching, which the evidence shows is the largest in-school influence on student outcomes. Increasing student/teacher ratios, and consolidation of the school network, can free up funding that could be used to support initiatives to enhance the quality of teaching, such as more systemic use of value-add data and a more professionalised workforce. This note provides a short summary of the evidence base that underpins this advice.
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sanzevidenceembargoed1pm20mar12.pdf