Benjamin Macintyre: Streaming - What we (don't) know

Those of you who remember your school days and those who currently have kids at school, may be aware of streaming – the practice of separating students into classes based on their stage of learning.  

Streaming is very common in our secondary schools. According to the OECD 2018, 83.5% of New Zealand secondary schools streamed some or all subjects. The rate of streaming for mathematics was 95%.

Benjamin Macintyre: Class divides streaming in our schools

Many readers will remember being in streamed classes at school. Perhaps you were in a top English class but a lower maths class.

Streaming is commonplace in New Zealand schools and has been for a long time. But recently, influential critics have called for a ban.

Responding to these calls, The Initiative’s new report, Class Divides: The impact of streaming on educational achievement and equality, explores both the local and international evidence on the educational effects of streaming.

Benjamin Macintyre: Anecdotes don't make for sound evidence - a response to the Kokirihia Report

Tokona Te Raki, an advocacy and research group for Māori issues, has recently released a report titled Kōkirihia. The report takes aim at the practice of streaming in our schools and pushes forward the bold suggestion to ban streaming by 2030.

Tokona Te Raki’s efforts are based on good intentions. Māori students are over-represented in lower streams, and in most statistics relating to poor educational outcomes. Seeking to find a solution to end this inequity and ensure that Māori students have the same opportunities as everyone else is a noble endeavour. Unfortunately, there is one major issue with this report – it isn’t very good.