MPs to ask why one in five pupils fails

A parliamentary inquiry will ask why 20 per cent of New Zealand school pupils fail.

In Parliament yesterday, National Party education spokesman Bill English said the education and science select committee was about to begin an inquiry into literacy and numeracy standards and why so many students were not succeeding.

Committee chairman Brian Donnelly confirmed that the committee was considering an investigation into the high level of failure in schools.

It is understood the review would be wide-ranging and intended to debunk the myths around academic failure.

Last year, the Education Review Office said one in five school students was failing - known as the "tail" of students.

With 765,000 pupils at school, this means some 153,000 students are likely to be affected.

The office said that although evidence showed New Zealand's top students were level with the best in the world, there was a large group at the bottom who were not succeeding.

That large disparity prompted the ERO to require all schools to prove they are helping struggling students - a requirement that will come into force next month.

Schools will be expected to make special efforts with literacy, numeracy and cultural awareness.