An OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) review team will visit New Zealand this year to assess its education system, including national standards which have been introduced in primary and intermediate schools.
Education Minister Anne Tolley said information from New Zealand and eight other countries was being compiled to be brought together in an OECD report which will share policy innovation with other nations on how to lift student achievement.
The implementation of national standards, which requires teachers to assess students against benchmarks in reading, writing and maths and report to parents, has been controversial with some principals, school boards and teacher unions rebelling against it, wanting to see it trialled first.
But Mrs Tolley said national standards, unique to New Zealand, had gained interest from other countries and the review would allow the education sector to examine how its evaluation and assessment policies could be even more effective in raising student achievement.
The OECD review would also assist the work of a recently-appointed independent advisory group on national standards, which gives advice on the implementation of the standards.
