Assess against the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum by using progress outcomes and the phases of learning as reference points, gathering a range of evidence to make an overall teacher judgement about where each student sits, and prioritising assessment for learning over one-off summative tests.
What changes about assessment when you move to the refreshed curriculum?
The main change is that assessment now references phases of learning and progress outcomes rather than the eight curriculum levels most New Zealand teachers grew up with. The refreshed curriculum, built on Te Mātaiaho, describes learning across broad phases and sets out what progress looks like by the end of each one. Your task shifts from placing a student at a level to judging where they sit on a described progression, using evidence gathered over time.
Each learning area is also structured around Understand, Know and Do — the big ideas students grapple with, the contexts and content they learn, and the practices they use to make meaning. This matters for assessment because you are no longer marking isolated skills in a vacuum; you are looking for evidence that students can apply knowledge and practices together. Good assessment under the refresh therefore captures depth and transfer, not just recall of facts.
What are progress outcomes and how do you assess against them?
Progress outcomes are statements that describe what learning typically looks like by the end of each phase, and they are the main reference point for assessment under the refreshed curriculum. Rather than ticking off a level, you compare a student’s work and behaviour against the relevant progress outcome to decide whether they are still developing towards it, meeting it, or working beyond it. They are written as a progression, so they help you see the next step, not just a score.
Because a phase spans more than one year, assessment against progress outcomes is naturally longitudinal. You build a picture of progress across the phase from many moments rather than one high-stakes task, which suits younger year groups especially. Turning a progress outcome into something usable in class often means unpacking it into success criteria your students can understand, so they know what quality looks like before they attempt the work.
How do you make a reliable overall teacher judgement?
A reliable overall teacher judgement (OTJ) triangulates several sources of evidence rather than resting on a single test. You draw together what you observe day to day, what students say in learning conversations, and what their work samples show, then weigh that evidence against the relevant progress outcome. No one piece is decisive; the judgement is your professional synthesis of the pattern across them, which is what makes it defensible when you report progress to whānau.
Consistency comes from moderation. Sharing student work with colleagues and discussing where it sits against a progress outcome keeps judgements aligned across a team and across time. It is worth agreeing, as a syndicate or department, on the evidence you will collect and the annotated exemplars you will use as anchors. This shared reference makes moderation faster and your judgements more trustworthy, especially when different teachers assess the same phase.
- Observation: what you notice as students work and talk in class.
- Conversation: what learning discussions and questioning reveal.
- Work samples: drafts, tasks and portfolios collected over the phase.
- Self and peer assessment: how students judge their own progress.
- The progress outcome itself, unpacked into shared success criteria.
Why does assessment for learning matter more under the refresh?
Assessment for learning matters more because the refreshed curriculum treats progress as something built across a phase, not confirmed by a final exam. When you assess formatively — sharing success criteria, giving specific feedback, and letting students act on it — you move learning forward while there is still time to improve. Summative judgements still happen, but they become a summary of progress you have already been tracking, rather than a surprise verdict at the end.
Practically, this means feedback should be criterion-referenced and tied to a clear next step, so a student knows what to do differently. A comment like ‘add evidence to support your second point’ helps far more than a bare grade. The refresh’s emphasis on students understanding their own progress also invites more self and peer assessment, which builds the metacognition the curriculum values and lightens the marking load at the same time.
How does assessing the curriculum connect to NCEA at senior level?
The refreshed curriculum and NCEA are related but distinct: the curriculum describes what and how students learn, while NCEA is the national qualification that recognises senior achievement. For Years 11 to 13, students are assessed against NCEA achievement standards through internal and external assessment, and NZQA moderates those judgements. The curriculum work you do in earlier phases builds the knowledge and practices students draw on when they meet those standards.
Both the curriculum and NCEA have been changing at the same time, so it helps to keep the two frameworks clear in your planning. In the senior years your assessment decisions are anchored to achievement standards and their criteria for Achieved, Merit and Excellence, and remain subject to moderation. In earlier phases, progress outcomes are your reference. Aligning the two — building towards standards through well-assessed phases — gives students a coherent path from curriculum to qualification.
How can you keep assessment consistent without adding hours of marking?
Keep assessment consistent by anchoring it to shared criteria and moderating regularly, rather than reinventing judgements task by task. Translate each progress outcome into success criteria and an annotated rubric your team agrees on, collect a manageable range of evidence, and set aside short, routine moderation time. When everyone marks against the same reference points and the same exemplars, judgements stay aligned and reporting to whānau becomes far easier to justify.
This is where a tool like JeddAI can help. Teachers connect or upload student work, and JeddAI drafts feedback and marking aligned to your own rubric, success criteria and comment banks — the same reference points you unpack from a progress outcome — while you review and edit every result before it counts. That keeps your professional judgement and moderation firmly in control while saving marking time. You can Get started with JeddAI and shape it around your curriculum and assessment context.
- Unpack the relevant progress outcome into student-friendly success criteria.
- Agree annotated exemplars as shared anchors for moderation.
- Collect a small but varied evidence set across the phase.
- Give feedback tied to a specific next step, not just a grade.
- Moderate in short, regular sessions rather than one end-of-year rush.
| Aspect | Previous NZC (curriculum levels) | Refreshed NZC (phases of learning) |
|---|---|---|
| Main reference point | Eight curriculum levels across Years 1 to 13. | Progress outcomes at the end of each phase. |
| Learning area structure | Strands with levelled achievement objectives. | Understand, Know and Do. |
| How progress is described | Movement up numbered levels. | Progression across broad phases of learning. |
| Assessment focus | Judging a student's current level. | An overall teacher judgement built over a phase. |
| Making it manageable | Level descriptors and exemplars. | Success criteria and shared, moderated exemplars. |
Frequently asked questions
Does the refreshed curriculum change NCEA?
Not directly. The refreshed curriculum describes learning across the phases, while NCEA is the separate qualification assessed against achievement standards at senior level. Both have been changing at once, so plan them as linked but distinct frameworks.
Do the old curriculum levels still exist?
The refresh moves the main reference point from the eight curriculum levels to phases of learning and progress outcomes. Check current Ministry of Education guidance for how levels and progress outcomes apply during the transition in your setting.
How does assessing against the refresh affect reporting to whānau?
You report progress against progress outcomes rather than a numbered level, describing where a student sits and their next steps. Framing it as a learning progression tends to be clearer and more useful for families than a single grade.
What about Māori-medium settings and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa?
Māori-medium learning is guided by Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, which has its own progressions. Assess against the relevant marautanga and progress statements rather than assuming the English-medium documents map across directly.
When do I have to assess this way?
The refresh is being introduced progressively across learning areas and year groups over several years. Confirm the current timeline and which documents apply to your year level with the Ministry of Education and your school's curriculum lead.
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