New Zealand has clear strategic objectives for education system performance, coupled with comprehensive frameworks for reporting on progress and performance. The principle of evidence-based policy making is well established in the education sector. Information about education system performance is collected through a range of tools including school roll returns and thematic reviews on particular schooling issues and priorities. The Education Review Office (ERO) publishes Education Evaluation Reports on national education issues that inform both policy and practice. Information on student learning outcomes in all curriculum areas is collected from the National Education Monitoring Project in primary education and from assessment for qualifications in secondary education. Training for assessors and a range of moderation mechanisms are in place to ensure the results are nationally consistent. The richness of data available in New Zealand is commendable even though some gaps remain in key measurement areas such as students’ and teachers’ linguistic backgrounds and national monitoring in M..ori-medium education. The use of school reporting information could be further enhanced, and the introduction of National Standards raises additional questions about how this new reporting information will feed into system-level evaluation.