Erica Stanford: Minister of Education on the improvement in NCEA pass rates

The Minster of Education says it's the teachers who have made the difference to improving NCEA literacy and numeracy pass rates.  

Small improvements were seen last year with 57% of NCEA students achieving the numeracy standard, 61% achieving the reading standard, and 55% achieving the writing standard. 

Erica Stanford told Heather Du Plessis-Allan she knows there's a long way to go but it's the schools, principals, and teachers who have done the heavy lifting.  

She says they've moved heaven and earth since this has become compulsory, and it's made the difference.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we've got the NCA corequisite pass rates from last year.
They're still a bit better, or they're a little bit better,
but they're still not flash. These are the exams, by
the way, that students must pass in order to win
to pass their year level. Last year, fifty seven percent
of students past maths. That's up from forty five percent,
sixty one past reading that's up from fifty eight percent,

(00:20):
and fifty writing stade roughly the same fifty five percent.
Eric of Stanford is the Education Minister morning Erica coome
on a what do you reckon is causing this improvement?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well, we've got a real focus on teaching the basics brilliantly.
These are the basics, and I've asked schools to make
sure that they're focusing on those basics an hour a day,
getting rid of cell phones, making sure that we're teaching
a world leading curriculum. We did put a bit of
funding in last year to help schools those schools that
we identified with the greatest number of students who needed support,

(00:53):
but really this has been schools and principles and teachers
who have really done some huge heavy lift in the
last year to get these kids across the line, and
I know that the results are still I've got a
long way to go, but man, those maths results have skyrocket,
and I'm extraordinarily proud of our teachers for the work
they've done and the kids for the work they've put on.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
The teaching the basics brilliantly. Thing is a fair point,
But that is really at primary school, isn't it. And
there hasn't been enough time for this to filter through
all the way to the upper levels of secondary school.
So is this more likely just an expectation thing and
are getting used to the corequisite?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Look, it's probably a little bit, but I think the
biggest the biggest contributor is the teachers who have put
in a huge amount of effort. I was chatting with
some of the members of the Spans Secondary School Principals
Association last night and they said to me, it is
the teachers who have moved heaven and Earth in the
last year since this has become compulsory. Last year was

(01:50):
the first year and because of the government's mandate, you know,
we want everybody to be improving achievement. We are focused
on literacy and numerous in maths like no government has
ever been before to this level, and they've really up
their game and that has been made the difference.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Hey, but what we do, What do we do about
these lower DEAs our schools. Thirty four percent passing maths
is really quite worrying.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, there's a couple of things. As you've mentioned, our
focus hugely is on primary and intermediate with our brand
new year by year knowledge rich curriculum, with our professional
learning and development that's going into teachers, the eight hundred
and sixty thousand maths books and textbooks and workbooks and
teacher guides we sent out last year structured literacy being mandated,
that will start to filter throw. It's already having results.

(02:36):
It will start to filter through. In the meantime, though,
I've got this cohort of children who are in upper
primary and intermediate, which is why we did the maths trial.
We did four times a week tutoring of our intermediate
kids with maths. Next year that goes out to thirty
four thousand kids, so we know we've got this group
in the middle. We've got to put a huge amount
of resource in. We put that in the budget so

(02:57):
we will wrap support around them. Now that that low
dear soul figure. That's what keeps me going every single day.
Those young people need an education to change their lives,
and when they walk into their local school, they need
to be getting the best education. That's why we're getting
this consistency across the board with the curriculum, the way

(03:17):
that we teach, the professional learning and development, the resources.
Doesn't matter which school you walk into these days, it
is the same level of education and that's what we're
focused on those kids to make sure we change their lives.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Hey, so about a month ago you hosted Sir Nick
Gibb in the country. Now, Surnick Gibb is obviously the
chap who turned education around much in the same way
as you're trying to do, but for the UK a
few you know, a couple of decades back. Did he
teach you anything you didn't know.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
He did? He's been an excellent mentor. Funnily enough, we
read the same book on holiday that changed our perspective
on education. What's that years apart? It's called The Schools
We Need and Why we Don't Have Them? By Edie
Hirshe's American, he's ninety seven. We both just went to
Florida recently to meet him speak at one of his conferences.
Keynoting one of his conferences, the thing that I suppose

(04:06):
Nick taught me was that the changes that I'm putting
in place, I know will make a difference because I've
worked there, they've worked in other countries. But the thing
that Nick told me when I talked to him, he
said to me, never give up and never compromise. Keep going. Now.
I remember a year ago when people were putting a
lot of pressure on me to get rid of the
correquisites because it was meaning that young people may not

(04:27):
get there n CEA, and I held my ground and said, no,
we're not lowering the level. We're not getting rid of it.
These young people need to be literate and numerate and
we will do whatever it takes. And we are doing that.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Good stuff, Erica, Thanks for your time, Erica, Stanford Education Minister.
If you want to know the name of the book,
the book is the schools we need and why we
don't have them. I think we're all going to probably
go and have a read of that if we have kids.
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