New Zealand
Context
New Zealand scored among the highest in the OECD in PISA 2015, with a mean score of 513 points, compared to the OECD average of 493 points. Performance in science has declined across PISA cycles by 17 points between PISA 2006 and PISA 2015, and performance in reading and mathematics has also decreased. Socio-economic status had a higher-than-average impact on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 13.6% of the variance in performance (OECD average: 12.9%). The impact of ESCS on performance in science has not changed since 2006. There was no significant gender difference in science performance in PISA 2015. Immigrant students make up 27.1% of the student population of 15-year-olds in New Zealand, a proportion which is among the highest in the OECD (OECD average: 12.5%). Unlike many OECD countries, New Zealand had no significant performance gap in PISA 2015 between immigrant and non-immigrant students in science, with a score difference of only 6 points.
Enrolment of 3-year-olds in ECEC and pre-primary education was higher than the OECD average in 2015, at 89.4%, (OECD average: 77.8%). Children typically begin early childhood education at age 3, in a programme that lasts two years. A national set of standards for the provision of education and care (Te Whāriki) is in place for 0-5 year-olds. Education-only programmes do not exist nationally. Integrated programmes do exist nationally and have a formal curriculum in place that is delivered by qualified teachers. Compulsory education begins at age 6 and ends at age 16, similar to the typical duration across the OECD. Students are first tracked into different educational pathways at age 16, later than the OECD average of age 14. At age 16 (Year 11), students have flexibility to choose subjects of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) based on their interest and ability. Achieving NCEA 3 level of qualifications provides access to post-secondary or tertiary education, as does passing exams or direct entry after age 21.
VET offers various options in post-compulsory education. The New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) allows students to earn credits towards vocational qualifications in both schooling and tertiary contexts. Upper secondary students can explore vocational courses in an integrated general academic programme. Students in tertiary education can study vocational programmes at 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics, three Māori tertiary institutions (wānanga), and private training establishments.
In the OECD Survey of Adult Skills in 2012 and 2015, adult literacy scores in New Zealand were among the highest in the OECD, at 281 points, compared to the OECD average of 268 points. The gap in literacy skills between older adults (age 55-65) and younger adults (age 25-34) was lower than the OECD average. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment is among the highest in the OECD, with an attainment rate of 23.4% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 14.3%. NEET rates (the proportion of those aged 18-24 that are neither employed nor in education or training) are lower than the OECD average, at 12.6%, compared to the OECD average of 15.3%. The percentage of the population aged 25-34 with a tertiary-level qualification is close to the OECD average, at 43.4% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 43.1%. Employment rates for 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education are higher than the OECD average. In 2016, 86.2% were employed, while the OECD average rate was 82.9%.
Note: For each indicator, the absolute performance is standardised (normalised) using a normative score ranging from 0 to 220, where 100 was set at the average, taking into account all OECD countries with available data in each case.
Sources: OECD (2016), PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en; OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en; OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en.
Evolution of key education policy priorities
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Identified by |
Equity and quality |
Preparing students for the future |
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Selected OECD country-based work, 2008-171 |
The OECD has identified that education outcomes for individuals of disadvantaged groups are still lagging behind: large performance and completion gaps persist within the student population, according to gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity. [2015] |
With an increased demand for higher skills, the OECD has identified a need to continuously upskill the labour force, facilitating the acquisition of skills in demand in the labour market and, if necessary, addressing any adverse distributional consequences that may result from technical progress, in order to help New Zealanders adjust to labour market changes. [2017] |
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Evolution of responses to EPO Surveys, 2013 and 2016-17 |
As reported by New Zealand, funding of ECEC is not always matched to the size of the educational challenge in different schools and services. Also, current funding systems are complex and have developed in ad hoc ways over time, focusing on inputs to the education system rather than educational outcomes. [2016-17] |
New Zealand has reported achieving better structured pathways to further education, training and employment, as a policy priority, which is part of the effort on centralising student pathways. [2013; 2016-17] |
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1. See Annex A, Table A A.3 for the list of OECD publications consulted for this snapshot. |
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Selected education policy responses
In New Zealand, the Māori-medium education sector was established in the 1980s by Māori whānau (families) and communities to help preserve Te reo Māori, an official language of New Zealand, and Māori culture. Māori-medium education is provided in and through the Māori language 51-100% of the time. It is available from early childhood education in kōhanga reo through to tertiary level in wānanga.
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Progress or impact: National sources report that as of 2017, there were 19 438 students enrolled in Māori-medium education, representing 2.4% of the total school population. This number was an increase of 0.1 percentage points over the previous year. Of the students who were involved in Māori-medium education, 97.7% identified as Māori, and 57.6% attended a school where all students were enrolled in Māori medium. These students were enrolled in one of the 277 schools affiliated with the programme in 2017. Students enrolled in Māori-medium education who successfully complete upper secondary school gain university entrance equal to or in higher proportions than the general school population. Students in Māori-medium education also have strong National Certificate of Educational Attainment (NCEA) achievement. In 2016, 79.2% of school leavers from Māori medium left with NCEA level 2 or above. This is on par with all students in the total school population (80.3% of these school leavers left with NCEA level 2 in 2016), unlike Māori students in English medium who typically achieve 15-20 percentage points lower (66.1% of these school leavers left with NCEA level 2 in 2016). Only 5.7% of all Māori secondary students participated in wharekura, or Māori-medium secondary schooling in 2017. Māori medium also has higher retention rates of senior secondary students. In 2016, 77.6% of Māori school leavers from Māori medium stayed in school until their 17th birthday, compared to 70.9% of Māori school leavers nationally. Research shows that retention at senior secondary school is an important factor towards educational achievement and a range of other positive life outcomes.
Between 2013 and 2017, the Pasifika Education Plan in New Zealand sought to personalise all the work of the Ministry of Education and Education Partner Agencies to Pasifika learners. The plan, set for an initial five years, aims to increase accountability for Pasifika students’ success by addressing underperformance and making improvements in practice, through increased use of achievement information as part of more effective community engagement. Progress is monitored annually.
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Progress or impact: There has been a significant increase in the number of Pasifika children and students who are participating, engaging and achieving well in education since the Plan’s implementation. The national data shows 1.1% more new entrant students in early childhood education in 2016 (7 467 students) than in 2015. Also, in 2016, the proportion of Pasifika children who participated in ECEC prior to starting school rose to 92.9%, a 1.1% increase from the year before. More students are also achieving key secondary school qualifications. In 2016, Pasifika students in compulsory education Years 1-8 achieved the National Standard for reading (66%), mathematics (62.7%) and writing (60.5%). Also in 2016, the proportion of Pasifika 18-year-olds who attained NCEA Level 2 or above was 78.7%, compared to 77.6% the year before. More students are also enrolling in tertiary education. The number of domestic Pasifika students studying at degree level or higher rose from 29 800 in 2008 to 34 800 in 2014 (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2017a). Despite these positive increases, responses to the EPO Survey 2016-17 indicate that the pace of progress could be faster for some Pasifika students. For example, Pasifika students are achieving the key secondary school qualification, NCEA Level 2, at 5.7 percentage points lower than the national average.
The Achievement Retention Transitions programme was implemented between 2013 and 2017 as part of New Zealand’s Youth Guarantee (2010). The initiative collaborates with local secondary schools to identify young people at risk of not achieving National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 2. There was a particular focus on Māori and Pasifika students. The initiative also aimed to generate higher levels of NCEA achievement and support the government’s Better Public Services target of 85% of 18 year-olds achieving NCEA level 2 or equivalent by 2017.
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Progress or impact: The initiative built on a 2012 pilot programme that led to significant improvement in the numbers of students achieving NCEA level 2. While this specific initiative had not been evaluated, the overall estimations for 2016 were positive, as the NCEA level 2 attainment rate for all 18-year-olds was expected to increase to 85.5% (a 10.9% increase since 2011), which is above the Better Public Service target of 85% by 2017. In addition, the achievement rates of Māori students (66.5%) and Pasifika (74.7%) students had risen in 2016 with the highest increase among Māori students (3.3 percentage points) since 2015 followed by Pasifika students (0.6 percentage points) (Education Counts, 2018).
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA, 2009) covers levels 1 to 3 of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF). At secondary school, students work towards one of these three qualifications. After secondary school, students who want to continue at the tertiary level can choose from a number of education options, ranging from universities to polytechnics, private training establishments, industry training organisations and further learning on the job. Students need to obtain NCEA level 2 or its equivalent to continue studying at higher levels.
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Progress or impact: Several reviews of aspects of the NZQF were undertaken from 2011 to 2016 that aimed to reduce duplication, ensure qualifications are relevant and fit-for-purpose, and make it easier for students to transfer between providers offering programmes towards the same New Zealand qualification. As pointed out by New Zealand in the EPO Survey 2016-17, the reviews led to an overall 74% reduction in the number of qualifications at levels 1-6 (measured at the approval-to-develop stage). Previous national and provider-developed qualifications at levels 1-6 are being replaced with new qualifications.
In New Zealand, Vocational Pathways, part of the Youth Guarantee set of initiatives, were launched in 2010. They provide a framework for students to show how their learning and achievement is valued in the workplace, by aligning learning to the skills needed for six broad industry areas. New Zealand has also introduced more information tools, including the Occupation Outlook, which contains information on education, employment and income for 60 key occupations, as well as FindMyPath, which helps students plan employment and qualification pathways.
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Progress or impact: The 2013 Youth Guarantee policy monitoring report for 2010-12 states that Vocational Pathways allow students, education providers and employers to visualise the importance of their education to the job market and future studies (Earle, 2013). By 2013, five pathways were ready to be put into practice the following year (Earle, 2013). Since 2014 there have been six pathways: construction and infrastructure; manufacturing and technology; primary; service industries; social and community services; and creative industries. Further online tools have been added, including Career Quest and Skill Matcher. The Vocational Pathways are renewed every year (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2017b).
In New Zealand, several programmes are operating as part of the Youth Guarantee initiatives that aim to improve the transition from education to the labour market. Among these are the Secondary-Tertiary Programmes or Trade Academies (2009) (STPs), which provide senior secondary school students with the opportunity to combine study at school with study in tertiary settings and/or in the workplace. STPs target upper secondary students interested in careers in trades or technology by collaborating with schools, tertiary institutions, industry training organisations and employers. Students are enrolled in school full time, but typically spend three days per week at school and two days at a tertiary provider, doing an integrated learning programme towards NCEA level 2, which is often seen as a requirement for entry-level jobs (see NZQA, 2017), and industry-related certificates.
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Progress or impact: The 2015 STP examination report found that the programmes aid in maintaining students in learning and achieving. More than 80% of the students who graduated from the programme in 2013, had an attendance rate of 80% or more, obtained a minimum of NCEA level 2, and successfully transferred from secondary school. Aspects for improvement include developing an integrated STP curriculum and advancing the partnerships (ERO, 2015). The 2014 Youth Guarantee Monitoring Report, which monitored the education and employment outcomes of participants in programmes including the STPs, also found that a higher share of participants attained NCEA level 2 or equivalent than a group of non-participants with similar demographic and educational backgrounds. The programme aided in the process of employment. It also had a great effect on helping young people to avoid become NEETs at the beginning, and the effect was maintained for STPs one to two years after programme completion. As of 2016, STPs provided 6 190 available places for students, a tenfold increase since 2011 (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2017c).
The 2014-19 Tertiary Education Strategy in New Zealand and the previous 2010-15 Tertiary Education Strategy help to guide tertiary education investment decisions. Priority areas in the 2014-19 strategy remained boosting achievement of Māori and Pasifika students and strengthening research-based institutions. The 2010-15 strategy focused on increasing the number of young people moving successfully from school into tertiary education and increasing the number of people under 25 who achieve national qualifications at level 4 and above. The 2014-19 strategy covers these policy areas by focusing further on increasing education outcomes by getting at-risk young people into a career. Compared to the 2010-15 strategy, its focus has moved from improving literacy, language and numeracy skills outcomes in lower-level study to improving adult literacy and numeracy. The 2010-15 priority area of improving educational and financial performance of providers was dropped, but there are two new policy areas: 1) delivering skills for industry so that students can smoothly transfer to the labour market; and 2) increasing international connections (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2017d; New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2013).
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Progress or impact: The 2017 evaluation and monitoring report specifies achievements and challenges on the six priority areas up to 2015. On Priority 1 (delivering skills for industry), the number of apprenticeships has increased through the New Zealand Apprenticeship scheme. In 2015, 42 000 students took part in an apprenticeship, with the government aiming to increase the number to 50 000 by 2020. Also, the overall number of NEETs aged 15-19 dropped to 7% in 2015 from 8% in 2014, while the rate of NEETs aged 20-24 stayed at 18%. Furthermore, the share of 18-year-olds who graduated with NZQF level 2 qualifications increased by 4.7% from 2013 to 2015, with a completion rate of 83.3% in 2015. Also, the share of 25-34 year-olds, with a level 4 qualification and above rose from 53.6% in 2013 to 57.1% in 2016. Overall completion rates at level 4 and above have increased for Māori and Pasifika students. But some challenges remain. For example, the overall percentage of those with a bachelor degree remains below the general population (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2017d).
New Zealand’s Youth Guarantee (2010) also focuses on improving transitions. Overall, it includes a suite of initiatives developed and progressively implemented since 2010, mainly to provide a wider range of learning opportunities, better use of the education network and clearer pathways from school to work and further study. Some specific programmes target students who are at risk of not achieving in school or making poor transitions after leaving school or those interested in VET.
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Progress or impact: The overall participation rate of 18-year-olds in Youth Guarantee programmes was 16.3% in 2014. Of this, 12.1% were in fee-free places and 4.9% were in Secondary-Tertiary Programmes. From 2011 to 2014, the overall participation rate increased by 5.3% (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2016). As can be seen in the policies above regarding VET and tertiary education, the different Youth Guarantee programmes aid in the transition from education to the labour market.
Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries
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Service Academies (2009) is an initiative with military-style programmes to encourage students with limited success at school to stay in education and training or enter the labour market. The 2011 evaluation of the Service Academies programme found that the majority of the academies supplied high-quality education and support to participating students. Students’ overall achievements improved due to the programme. Initial shortcomings were overcome by guaranteeing students that the schooling was included in their credits for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (New Zealand Education Review Office, 2011).
More information available at: www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm.