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[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

Kia ora Tyler

 

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 19 June 2026.  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.

 

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 | JH
[2]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

[3]Te TD huhu o te MD tauranga

 

Dear Ministry of Education,

 

I am writing to request information under the Official Information Act
1982 regarding the development, review, validation, and approval of
assessment content used within the Student Monitoring, Assessment and
Reporting Tool (SMART).

 

Specifically, I request:

 

A description of the processes used to develop, review, quality assure,
validate, and approve the assessment tasks, questions, texts, prompts, and
student response items used within SMART.

Confirmation of whether practising educators, curriculum specialists,
assessment experts, psychometricians, literacy specialists, cultural
advisers, accessibility specialists, or other subject matter experts were
involved in the review, validation, or approval of SMART assessment
content.

For any such reviewers or contributors, please provide:

their role or area of expertise;

whether they were Ministry staff, contractors, vendor staff, or external
advisers; and whether they were based in New Zealand or overseas.

Confirmation of whether SMART assessment content was reviewed specifically
for:

alignment with the New Zealand Curriculum or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa;
curriculum level appropriateness; reading level appropriateness; cultural
or contextual suitability for New Zealand learners; moderation
consistency; accessibility considerations; or bias and fairness
considerations.

Confirmation of whether any pilot testing, trialling, calibration,
readability analysis, or validation processes were undertaken before
assessment content was used in schools.

A description of how assessment content approval decisions were made,
including whether there were defined criteria or sign-off processes prior
to use in the 2025 trial phase or 2026 national rollout.

 

This request relates to system-level assessment development and review
processes only and does not seek any individual student information or
copies of secure assessment item banks.

 

If any part of this request is likely to be refused under section 18(f) of
the Act, I would welcome the opportunity to refine the scope.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Tyler Craig

 

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