The Australasian Literacy Summit couldn’t have come at a better time for New Zealand’s educators.  They face failing literacy standards, political uncertainty, and a mandatory NCEA written literacy test from 2026.  

Entitled Writing: what’s our game plan?, the two-day Australasian Literacy Summit, hosted by New Zealand edtech company Writer’s Toolbox, aimed not only to discuss research findings and approaches to learning, but to equip teachers with practical tools and strategies to increase written literacy.

Of note, Principal Researcher Christine Jackson from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) shared data gathered from NAPLAN, the Australian version of compulsory literacy standards test.  As in New Zealand schools, AERO research shows a lack of progression along literacy standards as students move through their schooling.  This is precisely why events like the Australasian Literacy Summit, where ideas can be shared among school leaders, are important to New Zealand’s educational future. 

For Writer’s Toolbox Founder Dr Ian Hunter, the upcoming NCEA literacy test represents an opportunity to provide teachers with useful data—not just in overall test scores but exactly where each student’s strengths and weaknesses lie.  Currently providing a diagnostic testing tool, Writer's Toolbox will soon launch an updated literacy testing tool, aligned with the NCEA test, to show teachers exactly where student gaps are and what to do to prepare them for success. 

Keynote speaker, University of Edinburgh Emeritus Professor Richard Andrews reflects on the summit,

“This has been a focussed, interesting, engaging opportunity to think outside the box.  To hear other people's views and positions.  Having the space and chance to discuss burning issues—classroom pedagogic issues, literacy issues.”

As attendees returned to their schools after the Australasian Literacy Summit, there was an overwhelming feeling of hope.  Principals and teachers had wrestled with the literacy challenge and came away better informed, armed with best-practice solutions—ready to take action.