The Education Review Office (ERO) is the New Zealand government’s external evaluation agency. ERO informs and facilitates improvement in schools and early learning services. They do this using system-wide inquiry, evaluation, and research.
ERO has now launched a one-stop, mobilisation-focused resource hub for education decisionmakers to access ERO’s practical research and sector insights. This includes their newly localised evidence portal the ‘International Evidence Toolkit’. The localisation process involved:
- Reviewing the available literature in New Zealand, including Māori specialist research team reviews.
- Including context-specific sector-facing language, clarifying the cultural context for strands with particular significance for New Zealand’s bicultural school system.
The site aims to highlight good practice and provide accessible insights and actionable recommendations for educators and leaders in New Zealand. ERO joined the Evidence for Education Network in 2023 and have a dedicated focus on building the evidence base on how to improve education, through:
- Understanding how well education delivers for all students.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of initiatives.
- Promoting evidence-based good practice; and
- Identifying emerging challenges in the sector.
ERO have also recently launched ‘good practice guides’ for the New Zealand sector on teaching maths in the first few years of school and on how teaching support staff can best support learning outcomes.
