For our children, an improved maths curriculum is on the way to tackle the concerning statistics for this important subject.
Last year, just 22% of year 8 students were at the expected curriculum level for maths. Worse still, three in five are more than a year behind.
The government is taking swift action to transform maths education with the launch of the Make It Count maths action plan. There are four components — curriculum, workforce, assessment, and accountability.
We’re accelerating the shift to a new structured maths curriculum for year 0-8 students, rolling it out a year earlier than planned. So, from term one next year, your child will be learning maths based on a new world-leading, knowledge-rich curriculum — similar to countries like Singapore and Australia.
To support teachers to make this change, we will be working with a range of providers to introduce teacher guides and student workbooks for classrooms across New Zealand, and we’re shifting $20 million to be available for professional development in maths.
The expectations for what children must learn each year will be clearly laid out, so parents know exactly what their children will be learning from the start of next year.
Providing a solid foundation is a key in education as well as infrastructure.
New water service delivery models that will drive crucial infrastructure investment have been approved by Cabinet, immediately providing improved access to finance for water council-controlled organisations.
A strong plan paves the way to success and it’s been great to see the hard work and preparation bringing the results for southern athletes at the Olympics, and providing a great example for us all.
