Reporting is looking different this year
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Understanding Your Child's New Report: Te Mātaiaho & The 5 Descriptors
Understanding Your Child's New Report: Te Mātaiaho & The 5 Descriptors
Education in Aotearoa New Zealand is evolving to give you a clearer, more accurate picture of your child's learning. The Ministry of Education has introduced Te Mātaiaho, a refreshed national curriculum designed to be consistent, inclusive, and rich in essential knowledge.
You will see these updates reflected immediately in how we track and report progress in English (Reading & Writing) and Mathematics.
Moving from OTJs to Informed Decisions (ID)
Moving from OTJs to Informed Decisions (ID)
We are shifting away from the old "Overall Teacher Judgments" (OTJs) to a more robust, data-informed approach called Informed Decisions (ID). This focus centers on:
Active Progression & Support: As well as looking at skills, teachers evaluate how your child manages day-to-day, year-level content. A key part of this is looking at how much support a student needs to access the curriculum. If they can apply what is taught independently, they achieve the milestone of Proficient.
A Holistic View: A single test never defines a student's ability. Informed Decisions are based on a well-rounded mix of formal assessments, daily classroom work, and active teacher observations.
A New Way of Tracking Progress
A New Way of Tracking Progress
Previously, reporting focused on where a student was working individually. Now, learning is organised into specific Curriculum learning tied directly to your child's current Year Level.
To show exactly how your child is navigating their current curriculum, we are moving to five new descriptors (click on each for further details):
The 5 Descripors (click on each for further details):
Emerging
Emerging
Students with this descriptor are:
Starting to understand new concepts and learning with significant help.
Beginning to link and use their knowledge with step-by-step guidance.
Teachers of these students:
Provide significant support for these students to complete and access year level content.
Developing
Developing
Students with this descriptor are:
Understanding new ideas and learning strategies with guidance.
Remembering facts and can use their knowledge in familiar situations with support.
Teachers of these students:
Provide a moderate amount of support so the student can access year level content.
Consolidating
Consolidating
Students with this descriptor are:
Becoming more independent at using familiar learning strategies.
Can often remember and use what they have learned.
Starting to apply their skills and knowledge to new situations.
Able to think about their work and explain how to make it better.
On track toward year-level expectations, or progressing well with support to get there.
Teachers of these students:
Provide minimal support and allows growing independence for these students to complete year level content activities.
Proficient
Proficient
Students with this descriptor are:
Confidently and accurately using learning strategies completely on their own.
Independently applying their knowledge to a variety of new situations.
Able to clearly explain their thinking and uses it to improve their work.
Enjoying sharing their ideas to help everyone's learning grow.
Teachers of these students:
Provide support and extend when needed and can allow total independence for these students to complete year level content activities.
Exceeding
Exceeding
Students with this descriptor are:
Uses advanced thinking to reflect deeply on their own learning.
Easily connects different concepts and ideas across all subjects.
Pushes their own understanding deeper by exploring topics further.
Uses what they know in creative ways to make sense of tough concepts.
Constantly challenges and tests their own ideas to grow their knowledge.
Teachers of these students:
Provide opportunities for these students to deepen their understanding of concepts and apply their knowledge in different contexts.
What’s Inside the New Mid-Year Report?
What’s Inside the New Mid-Year Report?
Our redesigned mid-year reports are built to be clear, visual, and highly informative. Here is what you will find inside:
Dedicated Learning Pages: Separate, detailed sections for Reading, Writing, and Maths, broken down into specific sub-skills.
Effort & Next Steps: Clear insights into your child’s classroom mindset, paired with practical, actionable tips on how you can support their learning at home.
Attendance Tracking: A visual breakdown showing how consistent attendance directly supports their everyday classroom success.
What to expect:
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