Our 'worst ever' reading, maths and science scores and why people question them

A decline in our Pisa scores was described as 'disastrous' and 'disappointing', but plenty of educators question the merit of the OECD-backed testing scheme

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, December 7, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.

In today’s edition: the theatrics of parliament’s opening and clarification from Willis; police minister sets out expectations for Commissioner; over 10,000 small business Covid loans in default; but first, our worst ever Pisa results and the arguments for and against the testing schemes reliability

Pisa scores drop

The new Pisa report was released yesterday, and New Zealand recorded its worst ever results in the OECD's maths, science and reading testing programme. Average scores in the Pisa for New Zealand 15-year-olds dropped 15 points in maths to 479 points, while science and reading scores fell just 4-5 points to 504 and 501 points. Scores have fallen worldwide, and New Zealand remains above OECD averages in all three areas. The Herald’s Derek Cheng has a good overview of the results. You can try the maths questions included in the Pisa testing for yourself here. The Pisa assessment has long been debated among academics and educators. In 2014, more than 100 academics worldwide called for a moratorium on Pisa. In 2019, Yong Zhao, a globally renowned educationalist and academic, wrote that “Pisa’s magical power in the education universe stems from its bold claims and successful marketing. It starts by tapping into the universal anxiety about the future. Humans are naturally concerned about the future and have a strong desire to know if tomorrow is better than, or at least as good as, today.”

Programme not a reliable indicator, say principals

As Brett Kerr-Laurie and Tatiana Gibbs report for The Press this morning, school principals weren’t surprised by the results. They say the programme is not a reliable indicator of student performance, as New Zealand schools don’t teach to it, instead using the national curriculum. Vice-president of the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand (SPANZ) and principal of the largest high school in the South Island, Burnside High School, Scott Haines, says, “A number of schools see no value in it.” he notes there are stories of kids who “circled ‘C’ for every answer” just to get through the test. Dr Michael Johnston, senior fellow at the New Zealand Initiative and former associate dean at the school of education at Victoria University, argues the results (paywalled) are corroborated by other international reading data and our national monitoring data “that show that much higher proportions of children are behind curriculum expectations in Year 8 than in Year 4.”

‘Disappointing but entirely predictable’ — education minister

As RNZ’s John Gerritsen reports, phones, bullying, hunger, Covid and teaching staff were revealed as problems in the accompanying report. A quarter of New Zealand students were in schools where the principals said they had inadequate or poorly qualified teaching staff, and nearly half were in schools that struggled to hire teachers. The number of students reporting that they weren’t eating at least once a week in the past 30 days due to lack of money to buy food was 14%, compared to the OECD average of 8%. Education minister Erica Stanford responded to the release of the results by saying they were disappointing but entirely predictable. The new government will roll out new approaches to literacy teaching. National's education policy also includes a plan to require schools to do one hour of maths, an hour of reading and an hour of writing every day. At a school visit to Manurewa Intermediate last week, prime minister Christopher Luxon touted the phone ban in schools as part of the solution.

‘Go after the social media companies’

When I first wrote about the arguments for and against phone bans in schools, I made the small request that students be heard alongside parents, educators and politicians. This morning on The Spinoff, high school student Caspar Levack argues the ban is poorly researched, won’t work and misses the real problem. Levack astutely writes that “If National wants to improve the lives of teenagers while also reining in technology, there is absolutely a path there: go after the social media companies. National MPs and much of the media commentators often conflate phone use with social media use. The latter is legitimately harmful; it’s designed to be addictive and fritters the attention spans of its users. Properly regulating social media companies would be popular policy that makes the government look really good. Why not do that instead?”

Thanks New Zealand!

Another year of Z’s Good in the Hood has seen $1 million shared with local groups. Little token. Big impact. Over one hundred community groups have been supported through this year’s initiative, including Meat the Need, Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau Hauora and BirdCare Aotearoa. Since 2011, Z has now given over $10 million to charities and community organisations chosen by New Zealanders.

Learn more about Good in the Hood here (sponsored)

An arsonist, a shambles and a bunch of losers walk into the House

After Shane Jones described Te Pāti Māori’s approach to Tuesday’s swearing in as “theatrical behaviour”, it’s difficult not to apply the same term to describe the pageantry and speeches at yesterday's state opening of parliament. Prime minister Christopher Luxon deployed blockbuster language, describing Chris Hipkins as an “arsonist”, continuing to loiter around the scene of the crime, with the rest of the caucus having survivors' guilt. Hipkins, who spoke first, said, “This could well be the most shambolic beginning of any government in New Zealand's history” before accusing the new government of “trashing New Zealand's international reputation” by adopting Covid conspiracies as policies. Referring to Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party, Winston Peters said, “I know a bunch of losers when I see them.” The Herald’s Claire Trevett provides the finest account of yesterday’s antics (paywalled), noting that new National MP James Meager delivered the speech of the day and that Peters, deprived of past foes National and Act to rail against, used “just 15 minutes of his allocated 30 minutes and ate a chocolate bar to recover.” Second shoutout of the week to Stuff’s Rob Kitchin for capturing a superb montage of Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s reactions to the speech from the throne.  

Theatrics and barbs aside, the speech can be read here.

Yesterday, Nicola Willis clarified her comments regarding bonus payments to public servants for fluency in te reo Māori. Willis told reporters yesterday afternoon she should have included more context in that statement, saying she only opposed such bonuses “in circumstances where they're not relevant”. Luxon said, “People are completely free to learn te reo themselves, that's what happens out there in the real world - in corporate life or any other community life - across New Zealand.” The bonuses are designed to acknowledge fluency not learning, and I imagine there are plenty of speakers within government departments who might talk to being the chief, and sometimes sole, karakia-pōwhiri-translation-cultural-advice officer.

Police minister Mark Mitchell sets out expectations for Police Commissioner

Police minister Mark Mitchell met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster yesterday and, as the Herald reports, “taken the unusual step of releasing a letter of expectations” for him. “I have been open about the fact I do not agree with the direction policing has taken under the previous government and I expect the Police Commissioner to focus on core policing with a back-to-basics approach,” he said. The letter lays out National’s key policies, including those listed in the 100-day plan. The plan includes introducing legislation to ban gang patches, stop gang members from gathering in public, and stop known gang offenders from communicating with one another. It also commits to giving police greater powers to search gang members for firearms, making gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing and law changes to give police power to stop gang members associating with each other.

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So many of our rewards have sold out, and we’re adding new ones, BUT they'll only happen if we reach our target. Please help us make this important project happen and deliver on the amazing rewards by making a pledge if you haven't already or sharing our PledgeMe page with your friends, whānau and colleagues who may be keen to help.

Over 10,000 small business Covid loans in default

The government’s small business cashflow scheme, introduced during the pandemic, offered loans of up to $20,000 plus $1800 per full-time equivalent employee. Businesses had five years to repay it, and repayments needed to start two years after the loan was taken out, with interest of 3% applied. As Stuff’s Susan Edmunds reports, Inland Revenue data shows that there are 10,174 small business cashflow scheme loans in default, and the amount involved is $177,696,001. Edmonds speaks to business owners now struggling with repayments in a tough economic climate.

Click and Collect

• A slump in oil prices points to a pre-Christmas fall in the cost of petrol

• The story of “Mrs P” is one journalist Kirsty Johnston brought to national attention. Yesterday a high court judge found the family court judge involved in the case acted unfairly. 

• Fascinating piece of research on the impact of toxic comments on the world’s largest online repository of knowledge, Wikipedia. Never thought about it before, but the researchers convincingly argue the consequences could be considerable. 

• Brace yourselves for increased costs on items shipped from overseas and possible shortages. A severe drought in the Panama Canal is wreaking havoc on the global supply chain.

  Feeling clever? Click here to play 1Q, Aotearoa’s newest, shortest daily quiz.

Right now on The Spinoff

Let’s Get Wellington Moving is dead, so what now? Joel MacManus reports on an alternative plan. Māori Health Authority board member Dr Mataroria Lyndon tells Ronan Payinda that there’s no stopping the fight for Māori health equity. Stewart Sowman-Lund investigates why his favourite halloumi is now covered in mint. Tara Ward reports on the big changes ahead for the beloved children’s programme, What Now. Toby Manhire provides a helpful guide to unfamiliar English names like NZTA and ApteryxAustralisSaver.

Sporting snippets

• ‘Tis the season for annual reviews, and Jamie Wall has kicked off with a look at the All Blacks 2023 season

• Black Caps lose five wickets for 55 runs before bad light ended play in the second test against Bangladesh

• The cost of Sky Sport will rise by 11% from $37.99 to $42.00 from February 1

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

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