Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to the 45 schools that participated in the field trial and the 170 schools that participated in the main study. Without the support of schools (both principals and staff), students and parents, this study would not be possible. The efforts of these participants have provided New Zealand with a valuable resource.

The field work for the main study, which lies behind this and other reports using PISA data, was undertaken during June and July 2006. Data collection and management went smoothly thanks to Abby Nurse (PISA 2006 Research Administrator) and Jeremy Praat (PISA 2006 Data Manager).

I would like to thank my fellow members of the PISA 2006 Steering Group for providing valuable advice to PISA, particularly during the development phase: Adrienne Alton-Lee, Martin Connelly, Avril Gaastra, Claire Harkess, Janet Hay, Rosemary Hipkins, Richard Harker, Earl Irving, John Laurenson, Robert Lynn, Debra Masters, Stephanie Nichols, Lisa Rodgers, and Leilani Unasa.

The authors of this report, Robyn Caygill and Saila Sok, deserve recognition for their efforts in working with a very complex dataset and delivering a quality report. On behalf of the authors I would also like to acknowledge Steve May for his analytical and technical contribution to this report; Chris Arcus and Fred Bishop for their helpful comments in reviewing this report; and the Research Division’s publication team, Christabel Dillon and Raelene Butters, for their assistance in the publication process.

Finally, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Maree Telford, National Project Manager of PISA 2006, and Steve May, Principal Research Analyst. Their dedication to the project helped to lay a solid foundation for this and future research endeavours using PISA data.

Lynne Whitney

Senior Manager

Research Division