A report by the Auditor-General says the Ministry of Education's strategy for Maori, Ka Hikitia, had a poor start, but is now on the right track.
The report published on Thursday is the second to come from a five-year project examining how well the education system supports Maori students to achieve their full potential.
It examines the introduction of Ka Hikitia by the Ministry of Education in 2008, and says the strategy was poorly co-ordinated.
It says students' results have changed little since the strategy was introduced.
But it says Ka Hikitia is helping to create the conditions for educational success by Maori students, and schools are increasingly recognising their responsibility to raise the achievement levels of their Maori students.