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Changes to maths curriculum come into effect

After a summer of preparation, schools are moving into the new maths curriculum for Years Zero to Eight from Term One this year.

<h2>From Term One this year, schools are required to use the refreshed Maths and Statistics learning area for Years Zero to Eight&period; </h2>&NewLine;Schools are also required to ensure students receive five hours per week of teaching and learning in maths&period; It’s hoped that these changes will raise maths achievement&period; &NewLine;In 2022, the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA) found that less than half of students were meeting curriculum expectations at Year Eight&period; Testing has shown that under new standards, only 20 percent of students in their last year of primary school would meet expectations&period; &NewLine;<a href="https&colon;//www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz/latest-print-issue/" target="&lowbar;blank" rel="noopener">Read the latest print edition of School News online HERE&period;</a>&NewLine;On the ground, educators are worried students and teachers may become <a href="https&colon;//www&period;rnz&period;co&period;nz/news/national/541366/new-maths-curriculum-begins-in-primary-schools" target="&lowbar;blank">discouraged</a> by the more difficult new curriculum&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We do like the fact that the goal posts are very clear for us in terms of teaching&period; But for example, understanding of equivalent fractions at a Year 2 to 3 level, I think kids at that age are still really trying to get to grips with what a concept of a fraction is at that age,” said Plateau School principal Nigel Frater&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There’s a bit of concern that those kids could get behind quite quickly&period;” &NewLine;Frater said he didn’t want staff to rely too heavily on the new textbooks and resources&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I’d be really concerned if schools started to lose sight of the curriculum and replaced it with the resource, and the resource became the curriculum,” Frater told RNZ&period; &NewLine;<figure id="attachment&lowbar;15453" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15453" style="width&colon; 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15453" src="https&colon;//www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AdobeStock&lowbar;43267240-1-300x200&period;jpeg" alt="literacy" width="300" height="200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-15453" class="wp-caption-text">Principal Nigel Frater says he wouldn&&num;8217&semi;t want the textbooks to &&num;8220&semi;become the curriculum&&num;8221&semi; © goodluz &&num;8211&semi; stock&period;adobe&period;com</figcaption></figure>&NewLine;Principal Hayley Read from Whang&amacr;rei Intermediate said the resources they received were aimed at Year Seven to Eight students but didn’t consider those who were working beneath their expected level&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The students that can’t access the curriculum because they’re six or seven years behind their chronological age in learning and expected to have the same book as a child who’s at that level, and so we don’t have those books and those resources to support those learners&period;” &NewLine;Douglas Park School principal Gareth Sinton agreed it may take time to lift achievement for all students, especially those performing beneath expected levels, even with the old standards&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;But in saying that, it’s probably not a bad thing&period; I think there’s a body of evidence that our curriculum, the previous one, maybe wasn’t as rigorous as some other international comparable curriculums&period;” &NewLine;Sinton agreed, however, that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;the thought of having a Year Five kid working out of a Year Five book, it’s a load of nonsense,” as children at any year level will naturally vary in ability&period; &NewLine;Douglas Park School would likely not use the workbooks provided, said Sinton, as the school used a group-based model to teach maths&period; &NewLine;Julia Novak, General Manager of New Zealand Curriculum and Te Wh&amacr;riki, Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education, said that the refreshed Maths and Statistics learning area has a clear teaching sequence, known as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;structured maths”&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The teaching sequence aims to build upon prior knowledge, introduce concepts at appropriate times and reinforce learning as students revisit and practice concepts and procedures&period; This change means that schools will not have to create teaching sequences themselves&period; It will support teachers’ planning and ensure a coherent progression of skills and concepts that students develop across their schooling pathway&period;” &NewLine;Teachers can also find guidance on maths teaching on the curriculum website, which uses local and international evidence on best teaching practice to lift student achievement in maths and statistics&period; This includes best practice on building positive relationships with maths and statistics, ensuring &amacr;konga develop confidence with maths and reduce their anxiety&period; &NewLine;Teachers are encouraged to tailor curriculum content to the appropriate level for their learners using assessment information&period;&NewLine;

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Naomii Seah

Naomii Seah is a writer and journalist from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. She has been covering education in New Zealand since 2022.