Home /

'They would have been better off guessing' - why Kiwi kids can't do maths

Amy Wiggins
By
Education reporter, NZ Herald.·NZ Herald·
13 mins to read

New Zealand’s once world-leading school system is in trouble. Literacy and numeracy rates continue to decline across the board, leading many to question where we have gone wrong. In part two of Making the Grade, education reporter Amy Wiggins examines whether teachers have been given the right tools to help children learn.

When New Zealand 9- to 10-year-olds were asked to solve 27 × 43, only 16 per cent got the right answer – from a multiple choice question.

Mathematician

‘The same for nearly all students’

‘Start with the basic building blocks’

‘Things are changing for literacy’

‘An equal opportunity’

Save