Source: New Zealand Government
Groundbreaking maths gains in just 12 weeks show the Government’s reforms to raise student achievement are already delivering for students who need it most.
New data from a nationwide maths acceleration trial for Year 7 and 8 students who needed extra support, shows students made, on average, a year to two years of progress in just 12 weeks in developing fundamental maths skills.
Even more encouraging, students not in the trial, simply learning under the new curriculum, an hour-a-day of maths, and using high quality resources, also made, on average, a full year’s progress in just 12 weeks.
Education Minister Erica Stanford says these results show that the Government’s focus on fixing the basics is working for children in every community.
“Every parent wants their child to feel confident in maths. These results show that students are catching up faster than anyone expected, thanks to strong foundations, clear teaching, and teachers who are embracing the reforms across the country.”
Earlier this year, the Make It Count maths action plan came into effect. It introduced structured mathematics, an internationally benchmarked curriculum, one million workbooks and textbooks delivered to classrooms, and professional learning for more than 22,000 teachers, alongside hour-a-day maths and phones away.
The 12-week acceleration trial involved approximately 1500 Year 7 and 8 students who were a year or more behind. Students received targeted, small-group tutoring up to four times a week across three models: in-person, hybrid and online.
Across the first 12-week period week, 1381 students achieved:
Around two years’ progress in the in-person model.
13–14 months’ progress in the hybrid model.
12 months’ progress in the online model.
“The biggest breakthrough was for the students who were working in their usual classes with their teacher. These students were not part of the first 12-week trial but were benefiting from hour-a-day maths, the new curriculum, and new workbooks. They made, on average, a full year’s progress in just 12 weeks. That shows the reforms are lifting achievement for all children, not just those receiving additional tutoring.”
These students along with approximately a further 1500 are benefiting from phase two of the trial.
The analysis shows similar gains regardless of background, equity index, school or ethnicity.
“These results are down to the incredible work of teachers who are implementing these significant reforms. The Education Review Office’s (ERO) recent report already showed early signs of improved achievement and engagement in English and maths. This new data confirms that the reforms are reversing years of decline and helping students reach their potential.”
The $40 million programme is now being rolled out nationwide, with around 13,000 students set to take part from Term 1 2026. All schools that requested to be part of the programme have been accepted.
“Our reforms are about ambition – raising achievement, closing the equity gap and making sure every child can succeed. Education is supposed to be the great equaliser. These results show that, with the right foundations and the right support, every student can get ahead and be confident mathematicians,” Ms Stanford says.
Media contact: Mitchell Alexander +64 21 846 701
Notes to editor:
The content of the 12-week programme was broken into four key learning areas deemed to develop fundamental maths skills; Number structure, addition and subtraction, multiplication & division fluency, fractions & decimals, percentages and proportional reasoning
The trial results were based on e-asTTle scores. Students were tested at Time 1 (baseline, week 0), Time 2 (end of programme, week 12) and Time 3 (post-programme Week 24)
In person group had additional support in small groups with a teacher using a teaching programme to accelerate progress, alongside their regular classroom teaching.
The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 54.16 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths of approximately 2 years growth across the 12-week intervention.
Hybrid group had additional support using an online tool to build and practise maths skills with supervision and support from a teacher or teacher aide, alongside their regular classroom teaching.
The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 39.71 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths of approximately 13-14 months growth across the 12-week intervention.
Online Group used an online tool to build and practise their maths skills independently alongside their regular classroom teaching.
The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 32.90 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths around one year’s growth across the 12-week intervention.
Control group had regular classroom teaching of an hour a day, with teachers having access to new Maths resources.
The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 27.76 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths around one year’s growth across the 12-week intervention.
