There are effective ways to improve Kiwi kids' numeracy and literacy, according to one teacher and researcher, who claims they've been declining since the 1970s.
According to a recent OECD report the maths and literacy achievement rates of New Zealand children have been declining for the past 20 years.
A survey released by the Employers & Manufacturers Association (EMA) on Monday found up to 22 per cent of employers are finding that job applicants don’t have the literacy and numeracy skills required for the jobs they’re applying for.
Olwyn Johnston told Breakfast New Zealand needs to look to an "evidence based" approach to improve literacy and numeracy.
"We need to look to the evidence based approach and I'm talking empirical evidence, the scientific evidence, talk to the people who are researching this and who are in the field.
"We've got some brilliant stuff happening in New Zealand, and yes we can do better, we can turn around the decline but we've got to do it the right way," she said.
Johnston says there are systematic ways to teach children mathematics and literacy skills from a young age.
"There is a systematic way to teach reading and then you can go and love reading.
"At level one of our curriculum it says little people, our five-year-olds should enjoy books, if you can't lift the words off the page, how are you going to enjoy reading?" she said.
Johnston also said if children can't solve basic maths problems, they'll never enjoy learning maths at school.
She submitted her thesis on reading in primary schools in earlier this year which explains how science closes the gaps in education.
"The study part of my research looked at the older struggling readers in New Zealand primary schools and using a structured literacy approach and what I've called a duel factor approach, so the teacher reading aloud being projected on a large screen.
"What we found is there are a lot gifted students, or precocious readers, wanted to join the groups that were being taught the English orthographic code because a lot of them realised they didn't know the rules."
"So structured literacy is not just for our beginning readers or our struggling readers."
Asked what response she'd like from politicians, Johnston said she'd like to see political parties working collaboratively to improve the education system.
"Drop the education political football and come to a cross-party agreement.
"Our children are too precious, too valuable and we've got to turn around the decline in education."
National's leader says it's an "absolute tragedy" 40% of students don't attend school regularly. (Source: 1News)
Also speaking on Breakfast on Wednesday, National Party Leader Christopher Luxon said he “absolutely” agreed there needs to be cross party cooperation on the issue.
"Absolutely fully agree, because this is a New Zealand thing, right," he said.
"There is exactly as the researcher [Johnston] has said, some very good stuff here in New Zealand.
"We had outstanding reading programmes through the 70s and 80s and we seem to have lost some of that."
"We don't want it to be politicised," 'Luxon said.
The Ministry of Education has been approached for comment.
SHARE ME