The school-leaver statistics released by the Ministry of Education show the need for National Standards to lift achievement levels says Education Minister Anne Tolley.
"The figures show that nearly one in five school leavers failed to achieve NCEA Level One or above in 2008," says Mrs Tolley.
"Too many of our children are not getting the literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed. We need to do better, and National Standards will lift student achievement by providing clear expectations of what students should be able to achieve and by when.
"Students who aren't progressing will be identified early and given the help they need to catch up. The Government is providing $36 million over four years to support schools in doing this."
From next year, English-medium primary and intermediate schools will assess students against the standards and report the information to parents in plain language.
This will enable parents and teachers to provide the right level of support to help students make progress.
"This Government wants more students leaving school with higher qualifications. We also want parents to have a clear picture of how their children are doing, and National Standards will make this happen," says Mrs Tolley.
The standards are due to be published and distributed to schools later this month.