‘Make It Count’ to add up to success

Everyone in a  group of year 10 pupils passed the literacy test.

That was the good news from the principal but it was only part of the story.

The rest of the story was not good news. All of the group passed because only those pupils who the teachers were sure were ready for the test had sat it.

Among the rest who weren’t ready were pupils who couldn’t write a full sentence with a capital letter at the start and a full stop at the end.

How on earth can you get to 14 or 15 after nine or 10 years at school and not write a simple sentence properly?

It’s not only literacy where pupils are failing, it’s maths too and the government is acting on that.

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.

There are lots of contributing factors over many years that add up to that total system failure. That failure has been failing children and failing the future – their future and the country’s.

“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.

Workforce

• $20 million for professional development in structured maths for teachers.
• Teaching Council agreed to lift maths entry requirements for new teachers.

Assessment

• Twice yearly assessments for maths in primary schools from the start of 2025.
• Small group interventions to support students who have fallen significantly behind.

The systems failure that has led to the appalling standards has left far too many pupils without the knowledge and skills that are essential for all sorts of jobs and many every day tasks including household budgeting.

The changes announced will add up to success for teachers, their pupils and the increased productivity that the country desperately needs.

The announcement was made in the PM’s speech to the National Party Conference.

 . . . And finally – the area I want to focus on today – a world-leading education, equipping young people with the skills they need to succeed and live amazing lives, doing whatever they want to do.

Last year we campaigned together on a basic principle – that to turn New Zealand around, we need to teach the basics brilliantly. Because for too long, the basics had been ignored.

We have a bureaucracy in Wellington distracted from their core responsibilities and teachers let down by a vague curriculum.

The result: our kids weren’t being taught the basics, leading to falling educational achievement, and a shocking decline relative to previous generations and kids in other countries.

Something had to change and National – all of us – campaigned on the solutions. Now I’m proud to say we are taking action. Fast.

We’re removing distractions, lifting student engagement, and driving down classroom bullying – by banning cellphones in school.

We’re giving every child in every classroom a grounding in the basics, by making sure they get an hour of reading, an hour of writing, and an hour maths. Every. Single. Day.

We’re re-writing the curriculum, shifting to a clear expectation of what a child must know in each subject, each year at school. We’re rolling structured literacy out across the whole country, so young people will learn to read the same way so many of us did when we went to school – with phonics.

The evidence shows that’s the most effective way to teach. And here’s what that means in practice. Thousands of teachers are being equipped with those skills right now, ensuring they have the best possible tools to use in their classrooms.

It means parents can have confidence their kids will get the best possible opportunity to become great readers when they walk through the school gates each day. Under Erica Stanford, all state schools in New Zealand will be teaching students how to read using structured literacy from Term 1 next year.

The same way, the right way, every day – based on data and evidence to get the best possible result.

It makes me proud – and it should make you proud – to be a member of the National Party. But it has become clear in recent weeks that we must do more.

Today we can tell you about shocking new data on student achievement in maths last year. Looking at kids who are about to go to high school, this data shows that just 22 per cent of students are at the expected standard for maths at year 8. That means 4 out of 5 are falling behind.

The results are deeply concerning, but I suspect not a surprise for many parents who I know are frustrated and despondent about the progress of their own children in school.

And it gets worse: 3 out of 5 are more than a year behind. Translated into a raw number, that means that last year around 50,000 children getting ready for high school were not at the curriculum benchmark for their age.

And if we’re honest – and we have to be straight-up when we talk about results like this – there will be 50,000 more next year, if nothing changes. And another 50,000 the year after that. Imagine Eden Park completely full each and every year.

There’s no way to describe those results as anything other than a total system failure.

Let me explain to you why these numbers are so shocking. Until now, New Zealand has assessed students in broad multi-year bands where a child could be years behind where they should be, yet are still considered to be at curriculum.

This is the first time we have assessed our kids showing where they are at compared to the year they are actually in. Essentially that means many parents were being told that their children are doing just fine when the reality is they could be years behind.

It is abhorrent to me that by failing to properly use assessment the true state of failure has been masked and the interventions that have been required, have not happened.

Unpacking the data shows a very sad story. Just 8 per cent of kids in our lowest decile schools are at curriculum in maths at year 8 and 79 per cent are more than a year behind.

For Māori, just 12 per cent are at curriculum in year 8 and 76 per cent are more than a year behind. If we are to close the gap and raise achievement, we must have a knowledge rich, year by year curriculum that is explicitly taught and consistently measured against. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

I want to be clear. I don’t blame parents, I don’t blame teachers, and I don’t blame young Kiwis trying their best in classrooms up and down New Zealand.

And as politically gratifying as it would be to blame the other lot – and they definitely haven’t helped – this issue is bigger than politics. This is the product of years of drift and decay by a system that has become utterly distracted from the values we all care about in this room: achievement, opportunity, and success.

Whether it’s our curriculum, our teacher training, our resources, or our priorities within the education system – for years, we have not been setting kids up for success.

This is the time to work together to turn these statistics around. I’m standing before you as Prime Minister and my promise to you today is that it’s time for change.

The system must change. The results must change. And we will deliver that change. We have to deliver that change for two reasons.

First, because we owe it to the next generation.

New Zealand should be a country with abundant opportunity. And I believe that the spirit and the promise of New Zealand is that if you work hard, you can get ahead. And that means everybody.

Wherever you grow up, whatever your parents did, and no matter where you’re going and whatever your aspiration in life. You deserve a shot.

So, for every kid walking into school tomorrow morning, backpack on, ready to take on the world, my message is simple. I cannot change the choices you make, or the home you were born into, but I will move heaven and earth to give you the best possible start in life with an outstanding education.

That’s the promise. That’s what we believe in. And that’s what’s so heart-breaking about those results.

We aren’t living up to our potential. We have to change. We have to do better. It’s time to act. Second, because it’s critical for our economic future.

If we want higher wages and better public services, then we need to deliver an economy that can pay for it. And the only way we can achieve that is to build a pipeline of homegrown talent across the country, with the skills and talent businesses need to fuel their growth, investment, and innovation.

Let’s be realistic. We won’t be the world leader in agriscience, or advanced aviation, or artificial intelligence, if our kids can’t do maths. And designing new expressways in Northland or windfarms in Taranaki will be pretty tough if our kids leave school without mastering the basics.

Allowing those opportunities to wash away because we can’t take hard action to make sure our kids are flourishing, would be nothing short of negligent.

I will not allow New Zealand to be left behind, while the rest of the world races on. If we care about our prosperity, we have to turn those results around. 

So, in light of the recent results and thanks to the outstanding work of Erica Stanford – our incredible Minister of Education – I can announce we are making three immediate interventions.

First, we are accelerating the shift to a new maths curriculum – bringing forward its introduction by a whole year.

What that means for parents is that from Term 1 next year, your child will be learning maths based on a new world-leading, knowledge rich maths curriculum – bringing us in line with countries across the OECD like Singapore and Australia.

The expectations for what children must learn each year will be clearly laid out. Parents deserve to know exactly what their kids will be learning and what they can do to help them – and from next year they will.

We will roll out student workbooks, detailed teacher guides, and other top-quality resources aligned to the new curriculum and available for every school, every teacher, and every child, in every classroom in New Zealand

Second, we will deliver targeted professional development, focused on structured maths for primary and intermediate teachers.

We know from a range of studies that too many teachers sadly do not have the confidence to teach maths to young people. Teachers deserve our support – and we’re going to deliver.

That’s why we’re shifting funding for professional development towards the basics – with $20 million becoming available to train teachers in maths. This policy and these tools mean we will use every single one of those daily hours of maths as effectively as possible. But to build a pipeline of great teachers we also need to lift the standard for new teachers.

Earlier this week the Teaching Council met urgently to review the entry requirements for teacher training.

I can now confirm that they have agreed that anyone that wants to be a teacher must have NCEA Level 2 maths (the old Form 6), as a pre-requisite. It’s a simple, but necessary change – and good on them for the Teaching Council driving this through.

Parents deserve to know that the person responsible for teaching their child maths has the confidence to do so. Third, and finally, we are taking assessment and support for kids who need it seriously.

That means – alongside our new curriculum – there will be twice-yearly assessments for maths in primary schools starting from 2025. We can’t know – and parents can’t know – if students are sinking or swimming, if we aren’t checking their progress.

We have to make sure every child has a record of their achievement as they move through school, so we know what’s going right and what might be going wrong.

Our responsibility is to support them if they need it – whether it’s an accelerated program if they’re thriving, or extra help if they’re falling behind. And if kids are really far behind, we will provide targeted support in small groups, using structured maths, to give our kids the best chance to catch up and succeed.

Ladies and gentlemen, education matters.

Every young person growing up in New Zealand today should only be constrained by their drive, commitment, and perseverance – not where they came from or where they’re going.

And if we’re serious about an equality of opportunity, then we need to get this right. All of us. Parents, teachers, principals, government, iwi, business and community all have a part to play in lifting our game and delivering a transformational shift from where we’ve been to where we need to be.

I’m confident we will deliver.

We campaigned together last year on a basic premise. That our country’s best days are ahead of us and that our potential is unlimited.

Yep, we’ve got tough problems. But we’ve also got tough people. Brilliant, inspiring, passionate people obsessed with making a difference. Kiwis hungry for a future they can be a proud of. For a future they can create and shape – for their kids, their grandkids, and their community.

Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, a principal – or you’re a kid still working out what your future will hold.

We have your back. I have your back. The country has your back. Let’s go get education back on track!

That it has got so far off track is appalling. That it needs to get back on track is essential and urgent.

Make it Count must, and will, add up to success for the pupils, the teachers, and the country.