New Report Shows Gains in Student Math and Reading Scores

A new report shows math achievement for students in Year 4 to Year 8 has gone up over recent years. The New Zealand Council for Educational Research released the findings, which look at 14 years of tests. The data comes from Progressive Achievement Tests taken by nearly 650,000 students in about 1,300 schools. The tests happen in Term 1, so each year reflects learning from the previous school year. Math scores stayed mostly stable through the 2010s, then dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic to a low point in 2022. Scores bounced back in 2023 and rose further in 2025 and 2026 after a new assessment was introduced. The 2026 average score was about one-third of a year ahead of the 2024 average score. Every assessed year level, ethnic group, and region was above its reference point by 2026.

Reactions

Education Minister Erica Stanford said government reforms 100% influenced the results. She credited the requirement for an hour of math per day, new classroom resources, and structured math. Stanford also praised teachers for carrying out the program well. However, the report's author, Dr David Coblentz, warned against blaming or thanking any single policy. Coblentz stated that the data shows when achievement changed, but not why, which needs more research. He noted the math rebound started in 2023, before the daily hour requirement and the 2025 math action plan. Meanwhile, NZEI Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels pointed out reading vocabulary gains but raised concerns about declines in reading comprehension. Lessels called for tracking the same student group over a longer time.

Context

Progressive Achievement Tests help schools track student progress in core subjects over time. Educational researchers study these long-term trends to understand how student performance shifts across different grade levels and years. Policymakers often look at these findings to debate the impact of school rules and teaching methods.