The business of educating
"Education is a right! Stop the debt sentence!" These were the slogans emblazoned on placards, held by students rallying against the University of Auckland’s 2015 fee hikes. Read more
22 January, 2016
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Do tertiary students fully grasp the degree to which taxpayers help fund their education and there insufficient debate on how tertiary education costs are shared
There is no such thing as a free lunch. The very same logic applies to tertiary education. Read more
17 December, 2015
NZ could benefit from high-performing schools budding up with poor performers
Shanghai’s number one position on international school league tables is the envy of public school systems around the world. Notwithstanding claims that some of the city’s results may have been engineered or that students there are among the least happy by OECD average, the system is one that New Zealand could learn from with regards to turning around poorly performing schools. Read more
27 October, 2015
NZ could benefit from adopting Shanghai's system of getting high-performing schools to 'buddy up' with poor performers
Shanghai’s number one position on international school league tables is the envy of public school systems around the world. Notwithstanding claims that some of the city’s results may have been engineered or that students there are among the least happy by OECD average, the system is one that New Zealand could learn from with regards to turning around poorly performing schools. Read more
27 October, 2015
Information on education should be more accessible
Dr Adrienne Alton-Lee, Chief Education Advisor for the Ministry of Education’s Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis programme, argues that no dollar should be spent on any initiative that does not have a research design linked to student achievement. I concur, especially when the education sector is forecast to spend $13.1 billion in the 2015/16 fiscal year. Read more
11 August, 2015
Make sure your children learn their times table, says academic
New Zealand schoolkids' performance on international maths tests leaves a bit to be desired. Both the Programme for International Student Assessment test (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the two main global benchmarks, show declining scores. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
15 June, 2015
Why millions on maths didn't add up
Last week saw a bustle of reports showing, once again, that maths learning is not up to scratch in New Zealand. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Education found that in 2013, 41% of Year 8 students were not achieving in maths at the expected level, with holes in fractions, decimals, percentages, and pro-numerals. Read more
12 June, 2015
Un(ac)countable: Why millions on maths returned little
This report documents the 15-year history of the Numeracy Development Project (the Numeracy Project), a nationwide centrally devised approach for improving maths. The Numeracy Project existed officially as a professional development (PD) programme for teachers in most primary schools in New Zealand between 2000 and 2009. Read more
4 June, 2015
Media release: $70m maths teaching methods failing kids
Wellington (4 June 2015): If your child is falling behind in maths, it could be because they are learning too many methods for solving maths problems, and are not spending enough time on the vital basics. That is a key finding of Un(ac)countable: Why millions on maths returned little by Rose Patterson. Read more
4 June, 2015
Critical thinking needed on ECE claims
Early childhood education (ECE) has been under the spotlight. The New Zealand Herald’s Kirsty Johnston recently reported major quality issues, with 150 ECE providers rated by the Education Review Office (ERO) in 2014 as “requiring further development”. Read more
4 May, 2015