WELLINGTON, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Education Minister Nikki Kaye on Friday released a plan to support schools and early learning providers to lift students' achievement in maths and writing, the core skills needed to "achieve across a wide range of subjects and in their future careers."
Earlier this year the government announced a new Better Public Service goal to have at least 80 percent of children in Year 8 (aged 12) achieving at or above the National Standard in maths and writing by 2021. Friday's plan is to support schools to meet the targets, Kaye said in a statement.
The plan focuses on better collaboration with the wider community and the social sector, improved teaching through dedicated training, the development of assessment tools and a focus on creating personalized pathways for each child, Kaye said.
The 2016 Public Achievement Information (PAI) shows that achievement levels in maths and writing are decreasing between years four and eight, with 70.7 percent of students achieving at or above the standard in maths and 69.3 percent in writing. In reading, 78.2 percent of children are achieving at or above the standard.
"These figures show we have a lot of work to do if we're to meet the 80 percent goal by 2021," Kaye said.
The 2016 PAI figures show that more young people than ever before are leaving school with the minimum qualification for success, with 84.6 percent of 18-year-olds achieving NCEA Level 2 in 2016, achieving an increase of 10.3 percentage points in just five years.
"Achieving NCEA level 2 will widen the opportunities and improve the life outcomes for these young people," she said, adding that "now it's time to focus on raising achievement earlier in the education pathway."
