The Auditor-General has criticised the Ministry of Education's handling of its flagship Maori education strategy.
A report published on Thursday says the strategy, Ka Hikitia, has the potential to transform the education system but the ministry's introduction of it was poor.
The report says the ministry introduced the strategy slowly and unsteadily, with poor planning and ineffective communication with schools.
As a result, Maori educational achievement has improved only modestly since Ka Hikitia was introduced in 2008.
However, the report says Ka Hikitia is a good strategy and it is helping to create conditions for improved Maori education success.
It says schools increasingly recognise their responsibility to raise the achievement levels of their Maori students.
The report calls on the ministry to learn from its mistakes as it re-launches Ka Hikitia for the next five years.
