New Zealand's Education System 'Fair' - But We've Been Pretending It's 'Great', Says Ministry Document

By John Gerritsen, Education Correspondent

A damning internal document from New Zealand's Education Ministry has revealed that the country's education system is rated as 'fair' by international standards, and that the belief that it is 'great' has been a long-standing illusion. The document, seen by RNZ and dated to 2023, outlines a stark reality and proposes three potential reforms to improve the system.

The report references a 2010 McKinsey assessment, which ranked education systems globally from 'poor' to 'excellent'. New Zealand was placed at the top of the 'fair' category, alongside countries like Armenia and Greece, and behind Australia, which was considered low in the 'good' category. Despite this, New Zealand's most recent OECD Pisa tests show it ranked 10th in reading, 11th in science, and 23rd in mathematics — a far cry from being 'excellent'.

The Ministry's document attributes the decline in performance in part to the 2007 curriculum reform, which was implemented without sufficient support. It describes the shift from a detailed curriculum to a more open one as a move that