By their eighth birthday, an estimated nine in ten New Zealand children will have experienced some form of serious adversity.

They might have been neglected, grown up with family violence, lived through a separation, or coped with a parent’s mental illness or substance use problem.

Outside the home, they might have been bullied – New Zealand has long reported some of the highest rates in the developed world – or grown up in families affected by ethnic discrimination.

Researchers collectively describe these as “adverse childhood experiences” or ACEs – a concept popularised by a landmark US study in the 1990s.

While typically discussed by health professionals, these experiences are also relevant to education as they can have important and lasting consequences for academic achievement.

Our newly published research, drawing on data from thousands of New Zealand children, provides an even clearer picture.

We found children who endured more adversity were more likely to become disconnected from learning and school by early........

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