Govt sets out plan to lift children's maths, literacy performance

The Government has unveiled its plans to tackle declining rates of numeracy and literacy. Photo / 123RF

The Government has unveiled its plan for tackling declining maths and literacy performance in schools.

It is promising more support for teachers and a new system of tests to measure children's abilities.

It also says initial teacher education will spend more time showing trainee teachers how to teach maths, reading and writing.

"The reality is our maths and literacy outcomes need to change," Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti said.

"We must do better for our kids and ensure they are getting the education they deserve.

"We will do this by ensuring teachers are supported and have what they need to be good teachers. We'll improve assessment so that learners are assessed as individuals and supports are tailored to the individual needs, rather than a one size fits all check box mentality."

Strategies for English and Māori-medium classrooms are ambitious and will take time, Tinetti said.

The strategy released today covers literacy and communication, numeracy, and mathematics and statistics teaching, learning, and assessment in early learning and schooling.

PPTA Te Wehengarua president Melanie Webber said the strategies were transformational, and described "the kind of education system that all teachers want for our ākonga [learners]".

"We haven't had a literacy or maths strategy for 20 years so we commend the Government for these blueprints. They are sorely needed."

But whether they achieved their goals would depend on the detail, the delivery and how well they were resourced, Webber said.

She was also pleased the strategies talked about systems for assessing and evaluating learning from early childhood onwards.

"Tragically, too many students arrive at secondary school without basic reading, writing and maths skills."

-Additional reporting NZHerald