While this finding from the 2022 National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA) is nothing new, a recent ERO report highlights the concerning trend in an effort to turn the tables on maths underachievement across the motu.
The report, Making it Count: Teaching Maths in Years 1-3, has also uncovered the fact that many teachers are not confident teaching the subject.
“Maths is crucial to success across a wide range of subjects, and it is particularly important that students in Years 1 to 3 develop key foundational skills,” Ruth Shinoda, head of ERO’s Education Evaluation Centre, says.
“Yet we know our maths achievement is concerningly low and a quarter of new primary school teachers told us they feel unprepared to teach maths.”
The report emphasises the importance of skill development in the early years of schooling.
“Maths results from late primary school and beyond have their roots in the preparation that students receive – or don’t – in their early years at school,” it reads.
“Building a strong foundation of early maths skills, concepts, and understandings is crucial to later success.”
The report highlights the importance of daily dedicated maths time and proposes daily maths should be timetabled, purposeful, and sequenced in a way that builds on existing knowledge and prepares students for further complexity.
“With the implementation of teaching one hour of maths a day, it is important teachers are supported to make that hour count,” Shinoda says.
“This report is designed to provide teachers in Years 1 to 3 with practical examples of approaches to maths teaching that we know can make a difference for all students.”
Maths achievement in the primary years is linked to later success across a range of life outcomes, such as higher education achievement, better jobs, better income, and social mobility.
Maths results have even been shown to impact on national economies.
