The Government will transform maths education to tackle New Zealand’s chronic problem with maths and set kids – and New Zealand – up for success, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford say.
New data from the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study (CIPS) shows just 22 per cent of Year 8 students in New Zealand are at the expected curriculum benchmark for mathematics. It shows just 12 per cent of Māori students are where they should be and that 63 per cent of the overall Year 8 cohort are more than a year behind.
“That means last year, around 50,000 children in Year 8 did not meet the expected curriculum benchmark for maths. There’s no way to describe those results as anything other than a total system failure,” Mr Luxon says.
“These figures are appalling, but I suspect not a surprise for many parents who I know are frustrated and despondent about the progress of their children.
“Whether it’s the curriculum, teacher training or priorities within the education system – for years, we have not been setting kids up for success. And if we aren’t setting our kids up for success, we aren’t setting New Zealand up for success.
“For these results to change, the system needs to change and that is why our Government is taking swift action to transform maths education.”
Ms Stanford is launching the first three components of ‘Make It Count’ - a maths action plan that will take effect from the start of next year.
“In line with our shift to structured literacy to change the way kids learn to read and write, we will bring forward the rollout of a new structured maths curriculum for year 0-8 students a year earlier than planned. It’s about getting the focus of our curriculum back to the basics.
“What that means for parents is that from Term 1 next year, children will be learning maths based on a new world-leading, knowledge-rich maths curriculum based on the best from across the OECD like Singapore and Australia, adapted for New Zealand.
“To support teachers to make this change, the Government will be working with a range of providers to introduce teacher guides and student workbooks that will go into classrooms across New Zealand.
“The expectations for what children must learn each year will be clearly laid out, so parents know exactly what their kids will be learning from the start of next year.
“Secondly, we need to support teachers, so they have the confidence to teach kids maths. That’s why we’re shifting $20 million to become available for professional development in maths.
“But to build a pipeline of great teachers we also need to lift the standard for new teachers. That’s why it’s good news that the Teaching Council has agreed that anyone wanting to train to become a teacher must have at least NCEA Level 2 maths.
“And finally, there will be small group interventions for students who are falling significantly behind curriculum level, informed by twice-yearly standardised assessments for maths in primary schools announced earlier in the year, which are being implemented from the start of 2025.
“These changes will build on others we’ve already implemented or announced. Transforming maths achievement is another step towards closing the equity gap and giving our children every opportunity to succeed, and setting New Zealand up for future prosperity.”
Make It Count – Maths Action Plan
Curriculum
“These figures are appalling, but I suspect not a surprise for many parents who I know are frustrated and despondent about the progress of their children.
“Whether it’s the curriculum, teacher training or priorities within the education system – for years, we have not been setting kids up for success. And if we aren’t setting our kids up for success, we aren’t setting New Zealand up for success.
“For these results to change, the system needs to change and that is why our Government is taking swift action to transform maths education.”
Ms Stanford is launching the first three components of ‘Make It Count’ - a maths action plan that will take effect from the start of next year.
“In line with our shift to structured literacy to change the way kids learn to read and write, we will bring forward the rollout of a new structured maths curriculum for year 0-8 students a year earlier than planned. It’s about getting the focus of our curriculum back to the basics.
“What that means for parents is that from Term 1 next year, children will be learning maths based on a new world-leading, knowledge-rich maths curriculum based on the best from across the OECD like Singapore and Australia, adapted for New Zealand.
“To support teachers to make this change, the Government will be working with a range of providers to introduce teacher guides and student workbooks that will go into classrooms across New Zealand.
“The expectations for what children must learn each year will be clearly laid out, so parents know exactly what their kids will be learning from the start of next year.
“Secondly, we need to support teachers, so they have the confidence to teach kids maths. That’s why we’re shifting $20 million to become available for professional development in maths.
“But to build a pipeline of great teachers we also need to lift the standard for new teachers. That’s why it’s good news that the Teaching Council has agreed that anyone wanting to train to become a teacher must have at least NCEA Level 2 maths.
“And finally, there will be small group interventions for students who are falling significantly behind curriculum level, informed by twice-yearly standardised assessments for maths in primary schools announced earlier in the year, which are being implemented from the start of 2025.
“These changes will build on others we’ve already implemented or announced. Transforming maths achievement is another step towards closing the equity gap and giving our children every opportunity to succeed, and setting New Zealand up for future prosperity.”
Make It Count – Maths Action Plan
Curriculum
- A new maths curriculum will be introduced a year early, from Term 1 2025, with resources available to support teachers.
- Resources, including teacher and student workbooks will be provided into every primary and intermediate school.
- $20 million for professional development in structured maths for teachers.
- Teaching Council agreed to lift maths entry requirements for new teachers.
- Twice yearly assessments for maths in primary schools from the start of 2025.
- Small group interventions to support students who have fallen significantly behind.
This article was first published HERE
11 comments:
Why not front up and say , Search here for the new maths action plan that is available NOW because it is used overseas and this is the copy we are introducing .
But NO we have an "ACTION PLAN" that is far too important to show the parents and families and is perfect to announce at our conference and pretend it is National policy and thinking . BUNKHAM. All it only is delay and procrastination whereas more students cant even count or complete simple numerical maths without a calculator for another term.
As an aside , I wonder if National actually realises emphasisng ZERO carbon is mathematically less than 5 or 4,3,2,1 and is nothing, zilch and unobtainable and is frustrating the hell out of voters .
How did we ever get to this point? Is it because maths is racist?
As a maths tutor of 40 plus years I am delighted. Every year the standards have worsened and the multiple strategies for doing basic arithmetic are diabolical in their destructiveness for primary students.
Unfortunately the teaching of maths has been of such an abysmal standard , now for about 50 years it is going to be a truly uphill battle to improve it.
My grandchild's teacher didn't know that a decimal remainder to a division sum was not the same as the fraction number. Hence the answer to 15/2 was 7.1 ! Division was not even covered because of lack of times tables being rote learned.
Homework work books. printed by Addisom, could be bought by parents in the 1980s. This meant parents could check up on the teachers' competence and progress as well as ensure their child was at the correct level.
The sooner our population realises that the current Progressive Education has and never had a focus on intellectual and academic achievement the better.
I am of the opinion that my generation were more mathematically literate and dexterous than today's youngsters for two main reasons. One, we had to deal with a multiplicity of units and conversion factors: 12 inches to the foot, 3 feet to the yard, 5280 feet to the statutory mile, 6080 feet to the nautical mile, etc. We had to be versatile. Two, we didn't have bloody calculators - pardon the French, but if I could smash most of the damned things up with a hammer in the expectation of a few IQ points being added to the current average, I would!
We never had calculators but if you have learnt the basics they are a handy tool. Log tables anyone?
My suggestion is that we have dedicated educational TV channels on free to air TV. On the channels will be a very good teacher taking the English, Maths or reading exercise for that day. For example, tomorrow I would be able to view what my Year 2 child should be taught on the 5th August 2024 in English, Maths etc. Every kid would be taught the same lesson on that day throughout NZ, from North Cape to the Bluff. If the child is sick and off school they can be in front of a TV, at home, so they do not fall behind. You could have channels to help kids that need to catch up, learn to read phonetically etc. If the teacher is away sick, again the kids can watch the lesson on the TV at their school.
Robert Bird, a brilliant concept. Not sure how the teacher's unions would take it, but a simple, effective idea. It could be a wonderful platform for all kids to improve themselves, away from the influence of dumbing down peers, and with the potential benefit of parental involvement. Maybe an opportunity for some adults as well? I'm sure many regret their lost education opportunities, and getting to a stage where reversing that situation is seen as impossible and embarrassing.
Without failing students and streaming as of old, I do not envy teachers their task. In teacher training far more emphasis needs be placed on actual subject matter and practical teaching technique rather than obscure education theory. In the 1950s very many ordinary adult folk were recruited as teachers and reasonably succeeded thanks to the relative simplicty. And their own good basic grounding.at school..
I was disappointed to see that 17% of Maori are keeping up. The Maori science did perfectly well without colonist math, so I guess they would be called the wrong type of Maori.
Yet the entire management that has enabled this disaster is untouched. Zero accountability for failing a generation of children.
In the non public service world heads would have rolled by now, so National are showing they are not the competent managers they claim to be.
I cannot see how much progress will ever be made without some sort of streaming to separate the able from the congenitally not. To seek equity of outcome by handicapping the able with class disruption and baby work as now is not the path to success as acheived 70-100 and more years ago.
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