Insights papers

Read about important and emerging topics in Aotearoa New Zealand's education system

NZQA Insights papers are intended to draw on our data and information to provide insights into qualification, assessment, and quality assurance matters.

Insights papers have a particular focus on equity issues, good practice and bringing to life administrative data that will support education system improvement.

NCEA Achievement – six indicators showing change over time

Published July 2024

This paper looks at six indicators that unpack how NCEAs are achieved, then examines the differences when you break down an indicator according to the socio-economic barriers that students face. 

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Exploring good practice in tertiary education

Real-world examples of good practice in tertiary education

Published July 2024

Stories of provider success against NZQA’s tertiary evaluation indicators, an important part of the external evaluation and review (EER) process. In particular, this paper focuses on provider performance against the 'programmes match needs' indicator.

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Stories of good practice in action

Published July 2024

EER Evaluators build close relationships with providers, and through their roles are witness to lots of good practice in action. This paper covers more success stories from non-university tertiary education.

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Poipoia kia puāwai - How schools support ākonga Māori and Pacific students to attain University Entrance

Published June 2024

Poipoia kia puāwai is our latest Insights paper. This report examines key aspects and the approaches that schools adopted to support ākonga Māori and Pacific students to attain University Entrance (UE).

The research, undertaken by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), looked at six schools with above-average UE attainment for ākonga Māori and Pacific students, exploring the foundations of their success and the initiatives these schools carried out to support UE attainment.

Read the paper or download a PDF [PDF, 1.1 MB]

He Muka Herenga Tangata - Embedding mātauranga Māori within programmes

Published March 2024

Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) are at various stages in their journey to weave mātauranga Māori into non-mātauranga Māori programmes of learning. NZQA has met with some TEOs to talk with them about how they have been able to do this. We have named this project He Muka Herenga Tangata.

The project aims to develop a community within which TEOs can safely reflect on where they are in their journey and how they might improve their practice for the sake of their ākonga. This paper tells the journey of SAE – Creative Media Institute.

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Video: He Muka Herenga Tangata - The SAE story (5:50 mins)

Ngā whai painga o Te Ao Haka: The positive impacts of Te Ao Haka

Published in 2023

What happens when a subject like Te Ao Haka is given mana orite (equal status) in Aotearoa's school system?

Ngā whai painga o Te Ao Haka: The positive impacts of Te Ao Haka for ākonga, whānau, and kaiako is a kaupapa Māori research study that was conducted by Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa, New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER).

Read the report and learn about the benefits for ākonga Māori, whānau, and kaiako.

Read the summary of the full report [PDF, 774 KB]

The full report sets out how the research was done and the benefits that were observed.

Read the full report [PDF, 1.7 MB]

Supporting Equity for Māori and Pacific students in New Zealand Scholarship

Published 8 June 2023

This paper aims to help schools consider their practises for identifying students to enter for New Zealand Scholarship (Scholarship) and the support provided to students; and makes recommendations that schools might consider to provide more equitable opportunities for Māori and Pacific students.

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St Peter's College case study: It's worth the effort

Published August 2024

Read about the case sudy

Improving relevance and responsiveness

Aotearoa New Zealand’s early micro-credentials journey

Published 21 September 2022

This paper looks at why NZQA added micro-credentials to the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, and what we have learned.

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Aotearoa New Zealand’s rationale for micro-credentials

Published 21 September 2022

This paper looks at why we added micro-credentials to the New Zealand Qualifications Framework 3 years ago.

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NCEA pathways through senior secondary

Published 17 June 2022

This paper looks at five data signposts which can indicate whether ākonga Māori and Pacific students at secondary school are on equitable pathways to academic success.

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University Entrance: Do current programmes lead to equity for ākonga Māori and Pacific students?

Published 17 June 2022

This paper examines some of the conditions which contribute to Māori and Pacific students being awarded University Entrance at half the rate of other students. 

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