220,000 students take the SMART test

More than 1300 schools and 220,000 students have used the Student Mentoring Assessment Tool (SMART) since it was introduced in February, Education Minister Erica Stanford said today.

The Government introduced twice yearly assessment in reading writing and maths. 

“We campaigned on this in 2023, we funded it and we delivered it.

“We introduced the SMART assessment because parents, academics, ERO and education experts told me we need to do better, when it comes having consistent, accessible reporting about how children are progressing.”

Under SMART, parents of students in Years 0–10 will receive nationally consistent reporting across reading, writing and maths, including:

One of five clear progress descriptors showing learning progress
An explanation of why that progress marker was chosen and how parents can support next learning steps
Information on progress over time and attendance
Information on phonics achievement and twice-yearly progress check-ins

“Rich detailed reports on student achievement will be released to the parents and schools of those 220,000 students from 3 July.”

“By using a nationally consistent reporting approach supported by twice-yearly progress check-ins parents receive reliable, easy-to-understand information about progress in reading, writing and maths, alongside attendance information and guidance on next learning steps.

“This will be the first time in more than 20 years that parents have had commonsense easy to understand report about how their child is doing at school.

“The SMART tool is a commonsense way to support consistent assessment,” Ms Stanford says.

“For too long some students have been turning up to high school without knowing the basics of reading, writing and maths and their parents have been in the dark.

“Using better reporting we can get these students help earlier and giving them the opportunity they deserve to succeed.

“This isn’t about ideology; it’s about ensuring children have the right supports at the right time.

“Anyone suggesting we remove SMART from our schools, is more interested in the voices of Unions, than what students, parents and schools need,” Ms Stanford said.

Student completion rates of more than 70 percent across participating schools reflects that schools and kura are actively integrating SMART into classroom practice as part of teaching and learning. ...