Executive Summary

Each year around 10,000 Māori students reach school-leaving age having completed some ten years of compulsory schooling. Soon they will need to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned to meet the challenges of adult life, and over time they will need the capacity to build on what has been learned as these challenges change and proliferate. How well prepared are they, and why are some in a better position than others?

Results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provide some answers to these questions. The current report first reviews educational outcomes for Māori 15-year-olds drawing on the PISA 2000 study, and then focuses on reading literacy and the factors associated with high achievement among Māori students. By highlighting the differences between high and low achievers within the Māori population, this report should assist in identifying some of the factors associated with success for Māori in education.