Social Sciences Publications
Social sciences is one of the eight learning areas in the New Zealand Curriculum.
The Social Sciences learning area assessments were administered in Term 3 of 2023. The assessments were informed by the relevant learning area statements from the 2023 draft version of the New Zealand Curriculum. At the time of the assessments, schools were not required to use the draft learning area statements.
The exception was the aspects of the te ao tangata | social sciences statement related to Aotearoa New Zealand histories (ANZH). Most schools would have been in the early stages of incorporating ANZH into their programmes.
The Curriculum Insights and Progress Study assesses all eight learning areas over a four-year cycle.
-
Curriculum Insights and Progress Study: Technical report 2023 - Learning areas: Te Ao Tangata | Social Sciences and English, Foundation areas: Mathematics and Reading
This report is comprised of six technical appendices that provide information about the methods and procedures used to design, develop, implement, and report the results of Curriculum Insights and Progress Study 2023. The appendices supplement the suite of reports written…
Author(s): The Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU) at the University of Otago, and the New Zealand Council for Educational research (NZCER). Report for the Ministry of Education.
Date Published: May 2026
Find Out More -
Curriculum Insights and Progress Study: Success in Te Ao Tangata | Social Sciences 2023
This dashboard uses 2023 data from the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study to provide an overview of three success indicators for the te ao tangata | social sciences learning area at Years 3, 6 and 8: achievement, enjoyment of learning,…
Author(s): The Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU) at the University of Otago, and the New Zealand Council for Educational research (NZCER). Report for the Ministry of Education.
Date Published: May 2026
Find Out More -
Curriculum Insights and Progress Study: Summary of the 2023 learning area assessments: Te Ao Tangata | Social Sciences and English
This document provides a short summary of the 2023 learning areas assessments carried out as part of the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study.…
Author(s): The Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU) at the University of Otago, and the New Zealand Council for Educational research (NZCER). Report for the Ministry of Education.
Date Published: May 2026
Find Out More -
Curriculum Insights and Progress Study: Contextual insights report 2023 – Social Sciences and English
The purpose of this report is to provide contextual information to complement and help interpret the study’s achievement data for the English and te ao tangata | social sciences learning areas. For the most part, this report presents descriptive statistics…
Author(s): The Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU) at the University of Otago, and the New Zealand Council for Educational research (NZCER). Report for the Ministry of Education.
Date Published: May 2026
Find Out More -
Curriculum Insights and Progress Study - Insights for teachers: How do students think conceptually about democracy?
This document is one of a collection of insights for teachers being developed, over time, as part of the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study. The insights draw on data from the study and are designed to highlight students’ strengths and…
Author(s): The Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU) at the University of Otago, and the New Zealand Council for Educational research (NZCER). Report for the Ministry of Education.
Date Published: May 2026
Find Out More