NZ Education getting behind in Maths and Science

Apparently NZ children are behind in maths and science at years 5 & 9 compared to the rest of the world that was in the measurement. Leaving aside maths for the moment, behind in science? Just what type of science are both those years supposed to know? Science was more an upper high school subject for me when I was young, rather than something we were taught in primary school.

However, being behind in maths is more serious.

[The study] says Kiwi teachers spend less time teaching maths than any other English speaking country [...]

Let's just contrast that statement with the following from an article about a young woman (Rhee) reforming Washington DC's schooling system:

Rhee is convinced that the answer to the U.S.'s education catastrophe is talent, in the form of outstanding teachers and principals. She wants to make Washington teachers the highest paid in the country, and in exchange she wants to get rid of the weakest teachers. Where she and the teachers' union disagree most is on her ability to measure the quality of teachers. Like about half the states, Washington is now tracking whether students' test scores improve over time under a given teacher. Rhee wants to use that data to decide who gets paid more--and, in combination with classroom evaluation, who keeps the job. But many teachers do not trust her to do this fairly, and the union bristles at the idea of giving up tenure, the exceptional job security that teachers enjoy.

So, track the scores of students.. tie those scores to the teacher.

The data back up Rhee's obsession with teaching. If two average 8-year-olds are assigned to different teachers, one who is strong and one who is weak, the children's lives can diverge in just a few years, according to research pioneered by Eric Hanushek at Stanford. The child with the effective teacher, the kind who ranks among the top 15% of all teachers, will be scoring well above grade level on standardized tests by the time she is 11. The other child will be a year and a half below grade level--and by then it will take a teacher who works with the child after school and on weekends to undo the compounded damage. In other words, the child will probably never catch up.

The ability to improve test scores is clearly not the only sign of a good teacher. But it is a relatively objective measure in an industry with precious few. And in schools where kids are struggling to read and subtract, it is a prerequisite for getting anything else done.

Good teachers make a huge difference. Sounds incredibly reasonable.

Right now, schools assess teachers before they teach--filtering for candidates who are certified, who have a master's degree, who have other pieces of paper that do not predict good teaching. And we pay them the same regardless of their effectiveness.

By comparison, if we wanted to have truly great teachers in our schools, we would assess them after their second year of teaching, when we could identify very strong and very weak performers, according to years of research. Great teachers are in total control. They have clear expectations and rules, and they are consistent with rewards and punishments. Most of all, they are in a hurry. They never feel that there is enough time in the day. They quiz kids on their multiplication tables while they walk to lunch. And they don't give up on their worst students, even when any normal person would.

The idea that NZ would pay teachers according to their ability to teach is anathema to the teacher's unions. It appears that if any country is to improve their school outcomes, the teacher's unions are the largest stumbling block.

I started my post with wanting to contrast the statement Kiwi teachers spend less time teaching maths than any other English speaking country" with "Most of all, [great teachers] are in a hurry. They never feel that there is enough time in the day. They quiz kids on their multiplication tables while they walk to lunch." But there was too much good stuff in the Time article to just stop there.

Related Links:
Kiwi kids behind Kazakhstan in science ~ Dominion Post
Rhee Tackles Classroom Challenge ~ Time Magazine