Hon Erica Stanford
Minister of Education

The Government is continuing to transform maths education, by trialling a targeted maths acceleration programme to give more Kiwi kids confidence in mathematics.

“After discovering just 22 per cent of Year 8 students are at the expected standard for maths, we launched our Make it Count Action Plan to give our teachers the tools they need to set students up for success. We’re continuing to supercharge our plan so students who need the most help, can catch up to where they need to be,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

“In Term 1 and 2 next year, around 2000 Year 7 and 8 students who are behind in their learning will take part in an intensive support programme to bring them up to the required curriculum level in maths. The trial will use small group tutoring and supervised online tuition for 30 minutes, up to four times a week for each child.”

The trial will be held in both schools and kura across the country teaching maths using the New Zealand Curriculum and teaching Pāngarau using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. It will run for 12 weeks and cost around $2 million.

An evaluation of the trial will inform how to scale it up across the country from Term 3 next year.

“This Government is committed to getting 80 per cent of Year 8 students at or above the expected curriculum level by 2030. We’ve just released a new knowledge-rich curriculum in time for Term 1 next year that sets out a structured, evidence-based approach based on the science of learning.

“Alongside this, more than 308,000 students will benefit from high-quality, curriculum aligned workbooks, teacher guidance and lesson plans. Our $30 million investment allows every teacher and child to have the resources they need to flourish in the classroom,” Ms Stanford says.

“We have an unrelenting focus on lifting student achievement and closing the equity gap in our education system so all children are equipped with the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to succeed.”

Make It Count – Maths Action Plan

Curriculum

• A new Years 0-8 maths curriculum will be introduced a year early, from Term 1 2025, with resources available to support teachers.
• $30 million for high-quality, curriculum aligned workbooks, teacher guidance and lesson plans to 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.
• Targeted support initiative for 10,000 secondary students who are most likely to struggle to meet the NCEA Co-requisite requirements.

Accountability

• Ministry of Education will intervene earlier and more often to tackle student achievement issues.
• Education Review Office (ERO) to overhaul reporting with a new focus on student progress, achievement, and assessment.
• Teaching Council agreed to strengthen maths component in Initial Teaching Education.

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