Study shows primary school students improve in maths and word skills

Test Results

New test data from over 3 million student assessments shows that primary school children in Years 4 to 8 have made sharp improvements in maths and reading vocabulary. A study by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research looked at 15 years of Progressive Achievement Tests. Children are now better at reading words than at any other point during this 15-year period. Maths scores dropped starting in 2019 and hit a low in 2022, but they have rebounded markedly over the past two years.

Views and Causes

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the figures prove that government reforms are working. However, the report's author, David Coblentz, noted that improvements in maths and reading vocabulary actually began before the government changes started. The report states that reading comprehension dropped substantially after starting to fall in 2015, hitting a low in 2024 before improving slightly this year. Coblentz suggested that increased use of digital devices and cell phones might explain the rise in vocabulary alongside the drop in deep reading comprehension.

Context

Standardized testing programs like the Progressive Achievement Tests are widely used in schools to track long-term academic trends across different student cohorts. Fluctuations in these national test scores often prompt debates among policymakers, educators, and researchers about curriculum changes and the impact of external disruptions like the pandemic.