New National Reporting System Gives Parents Clearer View of Learning Progress

Education Minister Erica Stanford says 2026 marks a long-awaited reset, giving parents clearer, more reliable information about how their children are progressing—no matter which school they attend.

Students returning to school this week will benefit from a major shift in how learning progress is measured and shared with families, as nationally consistent assessment and reporting is introduced for the first time across primary and intermediate schools.

Education Minister Erica Stanford says 2026 marks a long-awaited reset, giving parents clearer, more reliable information about how their children are progressing—no matter which school they attend.

“For years, parents have told us they want clearer, more detailed reporting on their child’s achievement,” Ms Stanford says.“This new national framework delivers that clarity and supports parents to be active partners in their child’s learning.”

From this year, schools will begin using a nationally consistent reporting approach, supported by twice-yearly progress check-ins. Parents will receive easy-to-understand information on progress in reading, writing and maths, alongside attendance data and practical guidance on next learning steps.

The change ensures reporting is consistent, meaningful, and comparable over time—addressing long-standing concerns that families were receiving uneven or unclear information depending on their child’s school.

“For too long, New Zealand has lacked consistent, reliable data on how students are progressing in the basics,” Ms Stanford says.“Expert advice has been clear that without nationally consistent assessment and reporting, parents can be left in the dark and children can miss out on early support.”

The reforms respond directly to repeated calls from the Education Review Office (ERO) and the New Zealand Assessment Institute (NZAI), both of which have highlighted the need for stronger assessment practices and higher-quality reporting across the system.

The new framework replaces an assessment system more than 20 years old and has been developed in consultation with principals’ associations and teachers. It has also been trialled in 85 schools, involving around 12,000 student assessment engagements, with positive feedback from participating schools.

Under the new reporting system, parents of students in Years 0–10 will receive nationally consistent reporting in reading, writing and maths, including:

• One of five clear progress markers describing learning progress• An explanation of why the progress marker was chosen and how parents can support next steps• Information on progress over time and attendance• Reporting on phonics achievement and twice-yearly progress check-ins

Reporting on other learning areas, values and behaviour will continue as it does now, and schools with strong existing reporting systems can continue using them where they meet the new national expectations.

A key part of the change is the introduction of twice-yearly progress check-ins for students in Years 3–8, supported by the new SMART progress monitoring tool.

“The SMART tool is a light-touch way to support consistent assessment across schools,” Ms Stanford says.“It does not replace teacher judgement. Teachers will continue to use their professional expertise, supported by tools that help ensure parents receive clear and consistent information.”

The check-ins will align with mid-year and end-of-year reporting, helping families understand progress across the whole year rather than at a single moment in time.

Consistent national information will also help better target support for students. This year, the Government is rolling out structured literacy and maths intervention teachers, expanding early intervention services, providing an additional 800,000 teacher aide hours, and introducing hundreds of new learning support coordinators and specialist staff.

“These changes strengthen the partnership between parents and schools,” Ms Stanford says.“They support teachers, help students get assistance earlier, and lift achievement across the system. That’s how we ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.”