Does the current guidance for the 2026 compulsory phonics checks promise national norms or national comparison data; if not, how does this differ from the 2025 reporting arrangements?

Answer

No. From 2026, all schools and kura are required to carry out the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) Phonics Checks. To support schools in meeting this requirement, the Ministry has developed two dedicated online assessment tools, Phonics Checks and Hihira Weteoro. I am advised that in 2025, schools submitted results to the Ministry’s Secure Data Portal. Following each term, a manual report was produced and sent to the school. The online tools now enable teachers to see individual results immediately with a more granular breakdown of learner progress, including partial credit for sub-items within each word. Planned updates to the tools include additional features that provide school-level insights into learner progress and achievement in Phonics using progress descriptors that are consistent across the pathway. The tools support the Ministry’s objective to build a comprehensive and consistent assessment ecosystem.