Our research

  • Published: 06 Dec 2021

    The Impact of Covid-19 on Teachers and Principals - Summary

    This short summary of our longer report Learning in a Covid-19 World: The Impact of Covid-19 on Teachers and Principals looks at the impact of Covid-19 on teachers and principals – including how Covid-19 has impacted enjoyment in work and workload. It also sets out examples of how schools can prepare for 2022 and what supports will be needed for teachers and principals.

  • Published: 16 Mar 2026

    The Collection and Use of Assessment Information: Good Practice in Secondary Schools

    ERO evaluated the collection and use of assessment information in schools in 2006. The evaluation concluded that more work can be done to improve assessment practice in schools. This complementary report aims to help secondary schools review their assessment practice. It highlights characteristics common to high quality assessment practices and includes examples of good practice.

  • Published: 26 Nov 2024

    Set up to succeed – How well is NCEA Level 1 working for our schools and students?

    ERO reviewed NCEA Level 1 to find out how fair and reliable it is, if it is helping students make good choices, how motivating and manageable it is for students, and the impacts of recent changes. We also explored how valued it is and how implementation has gone so far. This summary sets out what we looked and how, and the key findings and recommendations.

  • Published: 30 Oct 2024

    Left behind: How do we get our chronically absent students back to school?

    Chronic absence has doubled in the last decade. The Education Review Office (ERO) looked at how good the education system and supports are for chronic absence in Aotearoa New Zealand and found that we do not have a strong enough system or effective supports to address chronic absence. 

  • Published: 10 Sep 2024

    Someone to talk to: Evaluation of Counselling in Schools - Counselling

    The Education Review Office looked at the effectiveness of Counselling in Schools, how well it reached the students it is targeted at, the impact it had, and some lessons for counselling programmes in the future. We found that counselling improves students’ mental health, and we also saw some encouraging signs of improved learning and wellbeing more widely. 

  • Published: 23 Aug 2024

    Let’s keep talking: Oral language development in the early years

    Language is the foundation for children’s learning and success. Children use oral language to become good thinkers and communicators, and to develop the literacy skills they need to achieve well in school and beyond. This report draws together a range of evidence to look at how well children are developing the oral language skills they need when they start school. We also look at how Early Childhood Education (ECE) can help children to develop these important skills, and recommendations for action.