[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

Kia ora Lewis

 

Thank you for the information request below.  The Ministry will consider
and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information
Act 1982 the Act).

 

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of
our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any
case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is
received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request
on or before 15 September 2025. If more than 20 working days are needed
due to the potential workload and/or consultations involved in answering
your request, we will notify you accordingly.

 

The Ministry may publicly release on our website the response to your
request five days after you have received it. Any personal information
will be removed.

 

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address]

 

Ngā mihi

 

Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of
Education | TW

education.govt.nz

 

We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Lewis T <[2][FOI #32047 email]>

Sent: Monday, 18 August 2025 4:32 pm

To: Enquiries National <[3][email address]>

Subject: Official Information request - Evidence that the ministry is
effectively performing its core role.

 

[You don't often get email from
[4][FOI #32047 email]. Learn why this is
important at [5]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

 

Dear Ministry of Education,

 

I am requesting specific data, communications, and analyses to understand
the efficacy and evidentiary basis of key educational policies in light of
persistent and statistically significant disparities in student
achievement, engagement, safety, and teacher supply.

 

Please provide the following information:

 

1. Regarding Grouping Practices and "De-streaming":

 

a.   All internal advice, briefings, and meeting minutes related to the
commissioning and conclusions of the "Rapid Review of Grouping Practices
for Equitable Outcomes" (October 2023) .

 

b.   Any risk analysis or impact reports conducted by the Ministry to
assess potential negative educational outcomes for high-achieving students
as a result of implementing mixed-ability grouping policies .

 

c.   All pre- and post-implementation data collected from schools that
have received Ministry support to "de-stream," showing changes in academic
achievement (NCEA pass and endorsement rates), student attendance, and
stand-down rates, broken down by ethnicity and school EQI band.

 

2. Regarding NCEA Attainment, "Excellence Gaps," and LRCs:

 

a.   The raw, un-standardized school leaver data for the years 2019
through 2024 showing:

i.  The percentage of students attaining NCEA Level 2, NCEA Level 3, and
University Entrance.

ii. The percentage of NCEA qualifications awarded that were endorsed with
Merit and Excellence.

This data is requested for the following specific schools: Southern Cross
Campus and Wellington College.

b.   The national NCEA endorsement rates (Merit and Excellence) at Levels
1, 2, and 3 for the years 2019 through 2024, broken down by the following
ethnicities: Māori, Pacific, Asian, and European/Pākehā.

c.   All internal analysis and communications from 2020-2022 discussing
the statistical impact of

 

Learning Recognition Credits (LRCs) on the validity and comparability of
NCEA results .

 

3. Regarding School Disorder, Safety, and Attendance:

 

a.   The raw, anonymized, incident-level data for all stand-downs and
suspensions for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years. For each incident, this
should include the student's ethnicity, year level, the specific reason
for the disciplinary action (e.g., "Physical Assault on Other Students"),
and the EQI band of the school .

 

b.   Any analysis the Ministry has conducted to investigate a causal link
between school attendance rates and rates of violent incidents (as
measured by stand-downs for physical assault).

c.   The chronic, moderate, and regular attendance rates for Term 1 of the
years 2019 through 2025, for

 

Southern Cross Campus and Wellington College.

 

4. Regarding Internal Awareness of Systemic Decline:

 

a.   All internal briefings, meeting minutes, and communications within
the Ministry's senior leadership team since 2018 that explicitly discuss
New Zealand's declining PISA scores , the rising rates of school violence
, and the widening ethnic and socioeconomic achievement gaps in NCEA
attainment .

 

5. Regarding Teacher Workforce and Competency:

 

a.   All data from 2022-2025 showing teacher attrition rates, vacancies,
and recruitment shortfalls, broken down by subject (e.g., Mathematics,
Physics) and by school EQI band.

b.   All internal briefings and reports since 2022 discussing the reasons
for teacher attrition and the impact of workforce shortages on the
Ministry's ability to meet its policy objectives, including those related
to the "Common Practice Model."

c.   Any analysis the Ministry or Teaching Council has conducted on the
preparedness of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) graduates to manage
classroom behaviour and teach a knowledge-rich curriculum.

 

6. Regarding Curriculum and NCEA Implementation:

 

a.   The full, un-redacted results from all pilot programs and school
trials for the new NCEA Literacy and Numeracy co-requisite standards,
including the pass rates broken down by ethnicity and school EQI band.

b.   All internal advice, risk analyses, and meeting minutes discussing
the potential for these new co-requisite standards to decrease overall
NCEA attainment and widen existing equity gaps.

c.   Any analysis or modeling the Ministry has conducted to assess the
impact of the "Te Mātaiaho" curriculum refresh on student achievement in
core subjects as measured by international benchmarks like PISA and TIMSS.

 

I request that this information be provided to me in an electronic,
preferably machine-readable (e.g., CSV), format where applicable. As per
the Act, I expect a decision on my request to be made within 20 working
days.

 

Lewis T

 

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