Michael is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative. He leads the Initiative’s work on education. He is a cognitive psychologist with a background in literacy research, educational assessment and psychometrics.
Prior to his time at the Initiative, he was the Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington. Between 2005 and 2011, he worked at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), where he developed a new, more reliable, marking system for NCEA examinations. In 2024, Michael chaired a Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for Education Minister Erica Stanford. The MAG advised on the development of a knowledge-rich curriculum for English and mathematics. Following that work, Michael is currently a member of the Curriculum Coherence group, which advises on the development of knowledge-rich curricula across all school subjects. Michael is also a member of a technical advisory group to NZQA on assessment for NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship.
In his time at The New Zealand Initiative, Michael has published reports on Modern Learning Environments, systems reform in education, teacher education, the use of AI in education, and pathways for industry training and apprenticeships.
Phone: 044990790
Vocational education has never had a good reputation in New Zealand. It has long been seen as a second-best option for ‘struggling students.’ University is the destination of choice for ‘good’ students, even if they have no idea what they want to do there. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talked to Michael Laws on The Platform about grade inflation at New Zealand universities, explaining how A-grade rates have increased from 22% to 35% since 2006 and pass rates now exceed 90%. Dr Johnston argued that this trend stems from universities' commercial focus on retaining students for fee income, creating pressure to pass students regardless of assignment quality. Read more
At universities across the English-speaking world, grades have been going up. At US colleges, As (A+, A or A-) are now the most common grade. Read more
Learning to read is the first step in school education. It is essential to later learning. Read more
Dr Michael Johnson talked to the Wallace Chapman, Ali Jones and Simon Pound on RNZ's The Panel about the educational reasoning behind focusing on English phonics for beginning readers. He explained that teaching consistent spelling-to-sound mappings first, before introducing irregular words including te reo Māori terms, helps young children build reading confidence through mastering fundamental phonetic rules. Read more
Last week a new educational controversy broke in the media. Headlines accused Education Minister Erica Stanford of ‘banning’ Māori words from primary school reading books. Read more
On Monday morning, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced that the NCEA assessment and qualification system will be replaced. In 2028, a foundational award in literacy and numeracy will replace NCEA Level 1. Read more
In this episode, Oliver Hartwich talks to Michael Johnston about the government’s proposal to replace New Zealand’s National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) after more than two decades. They discuss how the current system, with its fragmented assessments and focus on collecting credits, has weakened learning. Read more
Ever since its progressive implementation between 2002 and 2004, NCEA has been under nearly constant revision. Its first major crisis came in 2005. Read more
Wellington (Monday, 4 August 2025) – The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the Government’s announcement to replace NCEA with a more rigorous qualification system, marking a crucial turning point for New Zealand education. The proposed reforms – including compulsory English and Mathematics at Year 11, structured subject requirements and clearer A-E grading – directly address the fundamental flaws The New Zealand Initiative has identified through years of research. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talked to Heather Du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB about the potential changes to the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Dr Johnston argued that NCEA has failed to deliver on its promise after 20 years and suggested creating a new assessment system with one result per subject, incorporating a time-limited exam and other assessments based on a knowledge-rich curriculum. Read more
The way the government went about rolling back 33 pay equity claims lodged under the last government’s Pay Equity legislation was clumsy at best. The changes were made under urgency and applied retrospectively. Read more
Activist organisations have an important place in democracy. Politicians must negotiate public opinion, media narratives and coalition agreements. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform about the controversial treaty clause in education legislation. Dr Johnston defended Education Minister Erica Stanford's approach, arguing that her retention of the treaty clause is a tactical political move while prioritising educational achievement, and suggesting that removing the clause would unnecessarily create additional conflict in the education sector. Read more
Philosophers love to dream up strange scenarios to get us thinking. They call these scenarios ‘thought experiments.’ In 1980, philosopher John Searle published his ‘Chinese room’ thought experiment. Read more