School maths revamp on the cards
The government is investing $20 million into improving maths teaching in primary schools, as studies show New Zealand kids are among the world's least numerate.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, August 5.
In today’s edition: The Spinoff’s Alex Casey investigates the kids fighting wrinkles before their 10th birthday; charity which took half a million in public money under investigation; government agencies knew of complaints about misuse of census data by Manurewa Marae months before it was reported by media. But first, the National Party conference was the venue for an announcement aimed at turning around poor maths results – and another hint that Kiwibank could be privatised.
‘A world-leading maths curriculum’
Primary school students will be assessed twice a year on their maths skills under the government’s new “Make It Count” action plan to address the mathematics crisis in New Zealand schools. Prime minister Chris Luxon announced details of the plan, which will also include extra training for teachers and support for students who are struggling, during a speech to the National Party Conference on Sunday. The changes will take effect from the start of the 2025 school year. Luxon described the lack of maths skills among NZ children as “a total system failure”, pointing to new data showing that only 22% of Year 8 students reached the expected benchmark for maths in 2023. Education minister Erica Stanford added that children will be given “a new world-leading, knowledge-rich maths curriculum based on the best from across the OECD like Singapore and Australia, adapted for New Zealand”.
Poor teaching partly to blame
The extra training for teachers comes after an Institute of Economic Research study earlier this year found a quarter of all new primary school teachers did not achieve NCEA Level 1 maths – in other words, they did not “pass at a basic level, the compulsory maths required of 15-year-olds in New Zealand”. There have been repeated calls for better teacher training in maths in recent years, and the government says the Teaching Council has now agreed to lift standards so that any prospective primary teacher must have achieved at least Level 2 in maths. However, as Venetia Sherson at RNZ reports, the problem has causes beyond the quality of teaching. Other issues include large class sizes and a widespread attitude in NZ that it’s socially acceptable to be poor at maths, educators say. Whatever the causes, there’s no doubt that the problem is acute. In a 2019 Trends in International Maths and Science study (TIMSS), New Zealand was the lowest performing English-speaking country in maths, with our nine-year-olds ranking an overall 39th out of 64 countries. The next TIMSS report is out in December.
Willis hints at Kiwibank privatisation
Also on the agenda at the conference was the proposed government sell-off of Kiwibank. Finance minister Nicola Willis said she “would like it to become a disruptive competitor that takes on the big Australian-owned banks” and it couldn’t do so without an injection of outside capital. “So let’s have a look at what’s possible. It’s time to explore all the options.” Her comments show the government is seriously considering one of the key recommendations in the Commerce Commission’s competition study into personal banking earlier this year. Opinion is split on whether privatisation – whether in full or in part – would be a good thing. Arguing on the pro side, The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive says a reason to be confident about a part-sale is that “the main name touted as a potential investor is actually a different branch of the state itself” – the NZ Super Fund, a former part-owner of the bank. For an opposing view, see Martien Lubberink’s piece in The Conversation, ‘Four reasons why selling part of Kiwibank could do more harm than good’.
Māori issues given short shrift
One big topic that didn’t get airtime this weekend was the government’s position on issues relating to, and affecting, Māori. In a conference focused on positive news and attacking the opposition, nobody wanted to touch the “great accumulation [of coalition policies] that is becoming far more problematic than any one issue in isolation”, as Claire Trevett put it in the Herald (paywalled). The immensely strained relationship between the government and Māori was demonstrated on Wednesday when Ngāpuhi leaders refused to take part in a pōwhiri for Luxon and his ministers, leaving an Iwi Chairs Forum hui as the government arrived. The iwi is leading a hikoi to parliament on Monday in protest against the removal of Treaty obligations from Oranga Tamariki’s remit.
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Charity which took half a million in public money under investigation
The NZ Edutech Trust charity is facing two government probes amid questions about how $500,000 in public funds were spent, reports Stuff’s Steve Kilgallon. The trust promised a range of educational programmes aimed at improving outcomes for children, but has no website or physical presences, and has never lodged any accounts. The Ministry of Education says it doesn’t have a licence to operate an early learning service and “there are no records to indicate NZ Edutech Trust has or has had any interactions with the Ministry”. The trust’s chair is connected to another inquiry into a separate charity of which she was a trustee, the Angel’s Children’s Educational Foundation. “That charity received almost $1m in similar grants but appeared to shutter operations after a Stuff story in 2022 raising questions about what work it had actually done.”
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'It's insidious and dangerous': The kids fighting wrinkles before their 10th birthday
“I like playing netball, drawing, going to Mecca”, says Rosie, age nine. “When I get older I might try and buy the entire Mecca store,” says Molly, 10. The Australasian beauty megastore aims its marketing squarely at grown-ups, but thanks to Youtube and TikTok, some of the most knowledgeable consumers of anti-ageing products haven’t even made it to double digits yet. In the new Spinoff Cover Story, our premier long-form feature offering, made with the generous support of our members, Alex Casey examines how the beauty industry got under pre-teens’ skin.
Click and Collect
The police, Stats NZ and the Electoral Commission all knew of complaints about misuse of census data by Manurewa Marae last year, months prior to the Sunday-Star Times reported it. Neither police nor the commission will say whether any action was taken.
Kieran McAnulty has emphatically denied he’s interested in leading Labour even if Chris Hipkins stood down.
British prime minister Keir Starmer has warned “far-right thugs” they will regret taking part in violent disorder after more rioting in several English cities on Sunday.
An earthquake in Fiordland could cause a Milford South tsunami which could kill up to 3500 people. What can be done to mitigate the risk?
The new Three News has been impressively executed – but the ratings paint a worrying picture, reports Duncan Greive. Amber O’Sullivan reflects on the reality of living with an eating disorder in your 30s. Litia Tuiburelevu meets South Auckland’s favourite driving instructor. Megan Dunn pays tribute to the pop culture phenomenon that was Sweet Valley High. Sonia Gray tells Tara Ward why she’s obsessed with getting to the bottom of family mysteries.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading.
Let me know in the comments, or get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz, if you have any feedback on today’s issue or anything in the news.
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Disappointing that the Spinoff has been taken in by the false and misleading stats used by the National Party to justify the imposition of a rigid maths curriculum. The real question is which donors will benefit from government contracts for professional and course development. More privatisation by stealth.
I think they need to be REALLY careful about what they do with Kiwibank. The ONLY reason I keep an account there is for Aotearoa ownership - IF it goes to PRIVATE ownership I am gone, and wonder how many others would follow? We already have NZ banks such as SBS (which is my main bank & excellent) or TSB which always rates well with customers in surveys. I realise Finance Minister Willis SAYS they are looking at NZ, but given her misleading about several other policies I don't trust anything she says - sad eh?