AI-powered writing tool boosts literacy in New Zealand schools

Several New Zealand schools are reporting improved literacy outcomes among students following the adoption of an AI-based structured literacy programme developed locally.

The release of new Common Assessment Activities (CAAs) has highlighted ongoing disparities in educational achievement, with trial data in 2022 showing less than 3 per cent of decile one students passing the writing assessment. Recent results across high schools continue to indicate widespread challenges, with many students struggling to meet baseline writing requirements.

Schools utilising the Writer's Toolbox platform, an AI-driven literacy programme recognised with the NZ Hi Tech Award, are seeing marked reversals in these trends. The programme, built in New Zealand, focuses on teaching the principles of writing, supporting the development of metacognitive, reasoning, and writing skills among students. According to its proponents, enhanced thinking skills through the programme are linked to increased student confidence, self-efficacy, and engagement.

At Tawhiti School in Taranaki, boys using the AI writing programme demonstrated a significant reduction in incomplete sentences across all years, falling from 21 per cent in 2023 to 10 per cent in 2024. The proportion of boys classified as struggling writers decreased by 74 per cent during the same period.

Tamatea Intermediate in Napier conducted a year-long trial involving four focus classes of intermediate students. Of these, three classes exhibited improvements in writing results, with one class achieving a 23 per cent increase in year-on-year performance.

St Peter Chanel Catholic School in the Waikato, an early adopter of Writer's Toolbox, also noted substantial gains. In mid-2022, 50 per cent of Year 8 students were writing at or above the expected standard, and by mid-2023, this figure had risen to 83.33 per cent.

Moanataiari School in Thames reported that, among its Year 3 students, none met the expected writing standard in Term 1 of 2022. By Term 3, following the introduction of Writer's Toolbox, 56 per cent of students were writing at or above the expected level.

Irene Ogden, Principal at Henderson North School in Auckland, described the effect of Writer's Toolbox on pupils. "Students love writing now. They have a better understanding of expectations and are more self-managing when given writing tasks. All ability levels have benefited from the structured approach and have experienced success."

Teacher competence and confidence in delivering writing instruction have also improved, according to feedback from schools involved in the programme. Kerry Nancarrow, Principal at Tikorangi School, said, "The biggest impact has been increased confidence in the teachers. They know where they are going with teaching writing and have a clearer picture. Teachers have the ability to convey the skills of writing to the students and this is empowering for teachers and students alike."

Attention has also turned to outcomes for Māori students, who, according to national statistics, have historically faced lower writing attainment rates. In 2023, 28.3 per cent of Māori school leavers had not achieved NCEA Level 1, compared to 14 per cent of Pākehā students. School retention rates also differed, with 63.6 per cent of Māori youth remaining in education until age 17, against 79 per cent for non-Māori.

Thornton School in Bay of Plenty reported that, after implementing Writer's Toolbox, incomplete sentence usage fell across all year groups, with the reduction being most pronounced among Māori students, dropping from 47 per cent to 4 per cent. The proportion of Māori students identified as struggling writers decreased from 50 per cent to zero.

The impact of these results underscores, according to school leaders, the potential for such interventions to support cultural and educational equity, extending benefits beyond classroom achievement.

Writer's Toolbox was founded in 2012 by academic and educator Dr Ian Hunter. The programme has since been adopted in six curriculum systems across ten countries and is now assessing more than 4.7 billion words of student writing annually, with growth estimated at 66 million words each week.

Dr Hunter said, "Literacy is too important to be left to chance. Writing, like other skills, can be explicitly taught in a structured, scientific way. And when we do, we empower the development of the whole person."

He continued, "Research shows that writing skills are integral to an effective knowledge economy and have powerful impacts on a student's confidence, creativity, resilience, creativity, and the future adaptability of our societies. The reason is simple: When we write we think: and in that process, our thinking is deepened and amplified."

Education Minister Erica Stanford has stated that structured literacy approaches are important for raising achievement and narrowing equity gaps in New Zealand schools. Writer's Toolbox representatives maintain that such changes are attainable and already evident in practice. Dr Hunter said, "At a time when educators are stretched and national results are under the microscope, it's exciting to see real, sustained improvement. No one should be held back in their life aspirations by an inability to write well. The solution is within our grasp."