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Press Statement: The New Zealand Initiative celebrates Senior Fellow Michael Johnston's appointment

Wellington (Tuesday, 19 December 2023) – The New Zealand Initiative proudly announces the appointment of its Senior Fellow, Dr Michael Johnston, as the Chair of the Government’s newly established Ministerial Advisory Group to review the primary school English, maths and statistics curricula in New Zealand. Dr Johnston is a cognitive psychologist with an extensive background in the education sector. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

19 December, 2023

Minister of Education Hon Erica Stanford mentions Dr Michael Johnston as Chair of Ministerial Advisory Group in Parliament

Minister of Education Hon Erica Stanford talks about Dr Michael Johnston and the newly formed Ministerial Advisory Group to review education curriculum and the common practice model during Question Time in Parliament. Watch below. Read more

Parliament.nz

19 December, 2023

A year of new beginnings

As 2023 draws to a close, we reflect on a transformative year for New Zealand’s political scene. The election ended Labour’s six-year reign and ushered in a new three-party coalition government under Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich

Insights Newsletter

15 December, 2023

Dr Michael Johnston talking about the Government delaying NCEA literacy and numeracy test delays

Dr Michael Johnston talks to Tim Dower on Newstalk ZB's Early Edition about the Government delaying plan to make online numeracy and literacy tests a prerequisite for NCEA from 2026. Listen below. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

Newstalk ZB

12 December, 2023

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A daunting task ahead

Two decades ago, a new term – ‘PISA shock’ – entered the German lexicon. The Germans had prided themselves on a world-class education system. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

Insights Newsletter

8 December, 2023

Rising risk of lift in literacy

The country’s education establishment has come out swinging. ‘Destructive,’ ‘weird,’ and ‘radical,’ are how the critics have described the Christopher Luxon-led Coalition Government’s education reform agenda. Read more

Roger Partridge

Insights Newsletter

8 December, 2023

Dr Michael Johnston in RNZ news about NZ education decline and low PISA results

Dr Michael Johnston recently spoke on RNZ's morning news about NZ's poor PISA 2022 results following their release earlier in the week. Listen below. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

RNZ

6 December, 2023

Pisa results: Michael Johnston on why New Zealand’s education system is failing

Every three years since 2000 - except during the Covid-19 pandemic - the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) has assessed the reading skill of 15-year-olds from an ever-increasing range of countries. From 2003, mathematics was assessed as well. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

NZ Herald

6 December, 2023

Policy Point Policy Point Interim measure required for NCEA cover outline

Policy Point: Interim measure required for NCEA Literacy and Numeracy

From 2026, students will have to pass new assessments in reading, writing and numeracy to attain any level of NCEA. However, pilots of the new assessments in 2022 and the first full-scale assessment round for these new standards in 2023 indicate that if they are adopted as a corequisite for NCEA as planned, completion rates for the qualification will fall precipitously. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

Policy Point

5 December, 2023

Interim measure required for NCEA website thumbnail

Media Release: New NCEA Literacy and Numeracy tests risk setting students up to fail

Wellington (Tuesday, 5 December 2023) – Changes are coming to the way New Zealand students will be tested for reading, writing, and numeracy for NCEA. From 2026, if students fail any one of these new tests, they will not be able to achieve any level of NCEA. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

5 December, 2023

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