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A new report brings into sharp focus what needs to happen to prevent the current over a third of fifteen year olds from struggling with maths, reading and writing.
Now I don't know my ABC: The perilous state of literacy in Aotearoa New Zealand is a new report from the Education Hub, a not-for-profit group aiming to bridge the gap between research and what actually goes on in education.
It follows up on a set of statistics presented in a 2020 UNICEF report showing 35% of fifteen-year-old Kiwis struggle with maths, reading and writing, while the rest - 65% - have at least basic proficiency in reading and maths.
To break it down further, 19% are illiterate and another 21% only have basic ability in literacy.
These are devastating facts for Education Hub founder, and report lead author Nina Hood, who tells Lynn Freeman the report has attempted to understand more fully where we're at and how we got here, in order to address this literary crisis, and, though it acknowledges there is no quick fix, what needs to happen to affect positive change.
