NZPF responds to Government's "groundbreaking" maths results

The New Zealand Principals' Federation (NZPF) has welcomed the Education Minister's announcement to expand expert mathematics intervention programmes to all year 7 and 8 students who are not achieving. However, NZPF President Leanne Otene questions the evidence provided by the Minister and whether this is the best use of the Government's education budget.

"I do not deny that this mathematics intervention will have a positive impact ‑ no teacher will argue with that," says Otene.

"Extra tuition time, one‑on‑one attention and lower class ratios ‑ we know that every child taught maths under those conditions will absolutely benefit.

"But at the end of the day, what the Government is funding is just an intervention. It won't support maths teachers' professional learning and development," she says.

NZPF understands that trial participants were tested before the 12‑week intervention and again on the exact same items immediately following it, which Otene argues doesn't provide the real picture of the students' education gains.

"Inevitably there will be a recall effect, where answers can be practised and remembered, even if long‑term learning has not occurred," Otene says.

"So it's pretty clear to me that the trial was designed to present 'ground‑breaking' results, not to reflect the true nature of the students' learning."

Otene is also clear about the use of the 2024 maths curriculum used in the trial.

"It really astounds me that the Minister is touting this trial as strong evidence while teachers are being told to roll out a new mathematics and statistics curriculum in 2026, the third in less than three years," she says.

"Are we to ignore the fact that the trial used a specific selection of 2024 maths curriculum items taken from the e‑asTTle assessment banks?

"The 2024 maths curriculum is what teachers are prepared to teach. It is what is clearly working for our young people. It is what the Government is now wanting to replace.

"We do not need any more curriculum changes."

While NZPF is concerned that the results of this trial are magnified due to design factors, NZPF is supportive that the Government is doing something to uplift our young people's maths achievement.

"The NZPF has been calling for a model to lift the maths performance of struggling students for years," says Otene.

"It is our view that interventions are needed alongside specialist maths professional learning and development (PLD). This combination would equip teachers with accelerated practices to meet the specific needs of all students, not just in year 7 and 8," she says.