Chris Abercrombie: PPTA President on the government's new maths curriculum shows positive results in just 12 weeks

Hopes a nationwide maths pilot can continue to deliver results.

The $40 million Government programme targeted 1,500 Year 7 and 8 students needing extra support, through small-group tutoring up to four times a week. 

New data shows students averaged one to two years progress in 12 weeks.

PPTA President Chris Abercrombie told Ryan Bridge the focus on core skills like maths never stopped, but this is a new way of doing it.

He says one of the issues with intense focus is that it's resource-heavy, which is fine as long as it can continue.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More good news from the government's education reforms. In just
twelve weeks, Year seven and eight's on a maths acceleration
trial for extra support made on average a year to
two years progress in the space of twelve weeks, and
the rest just doing an hour of maths a day.
The basics also made a full year's progress in that time.

(00:21):
Chris Abercrombie the PPTA with me this morning, get.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
A Chris, good morning, How are you good?

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Thank you? So this is this is more good news.
Do we think something I don't know? Is there something
in the water, Is there something perhaps from Wellington happening
that's working?

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well? We know an intensive intervention does support young people.
You know, when you get that one on one time,
that small group, it definitely makes progress. So it's great
to see. Great.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
So we need more of.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
It, absolutely, and we need to have a different year
levels as well. So one of the things we really
want is to get that support into year nine, ten
and year eleven students. They sort of have missed out
on some of the support there for literacy and numeracy,
so hopefully this can be rolled out in other year levels.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Great, and what about the data for those who aren't
in the accelerated program. But just you know, your general
students who are doing an hour of math today with
the new books and all that sort of stuff, they
are showing massive improvement too.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Again, you know, I say, like when they've got the
intense focus, it's definitely going to have a benefit. So
it's good to say that numeracy is increasing.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Great, Why do we stop the intense focus on basics?

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Oh, I wouldn't say we stopped the intense focus. It's
just that we've we had different ways of doing it,
and this is another way of doing it. But one
of the issues with intense focus is that it is
resource heavy, and that's you know, and that's fine as
long as that resource continues. It is a very resource
heavy way of doing it. But it's not a necessarily

(01:56):
bad thing, just that resource needs to continue.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
What's resource here? V about doing an hour of math today, Well.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Everything about it, and in the intensive part of it,
the twelve week program, the hour of day is having
that that focus means you need to do less of
other things and you have to have resources to make
sure you can do that and focus. So the textbooks,
as you mentioned, the teacher time, the expert time, that's
all resource.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Hevery what were they doing if I understand that, yes,
you have to spend an hour on maths today, but
what else were they doing?

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, there's other things that it's a very broad curriculum.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Was that a bad idea? Was that a bad idea?

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I mean, do you like you know this is the thing?
Is that?

Speaker 1 (02:43):
But you can do You can do art at home, christ,
can't you? I mean you've got to learn message that's
at home, can you?

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well?

Speaker 1 (02:49):
No, most parents probably wouldn't be able to teach their
kids maths. Most of them can probably give them a
paintbrush and let them go nuts.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
I have more faith and parents about teaching maths. I
teach my kids maths, So I'm not a math teacher.
I think. I think that's there's doing a bit of
a disserviced appearance. But what I'm saying is there's always
trade offs in these decisions. So and that's and that's
perfectly fine as long as we're all willing to deal
with those trade offs.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
I think we are. Do you think Erica Stanford is
the best education minister that we've had in decades?

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Ah Ron, You know, I'm not going to answer a
silly question like that.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Appreciate your time, Chris Chris Ebercrombie, p PTA President.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
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