Editorial: Will 320 more teachers get better outcomes?

Minister of Education Jan Tinetti, left, with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Remuera Intermediate School principal Kyle Brewerton at the announcement to target years 4-8 with extra teachers. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Opinion

EDITORIAL

It is one peculiarity of modern societies that it is up to politicians to decide such seemingly influential matters as the ideal teacher-student ratio.

The education of our children has become so entrenched in politics that it is highly unlikely any cross-party agreement could ever be reached on such a simple equation as the right number of children per teacher to achieve the best outcomes.

This week Education Minister Jan Tinetti and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins rolled into Remuera Primary School, to announce the first reduction in the year 4-8 grouping ratios since 1996 by providing 320 extra teachers.

The reduction from 1 teacher to 29 students in 2023 to 1 teacher to 28 students in 2025 has been hailed as the first movement to reduce ratios in this year grouping in more than a generation but New Zealand’s largest education union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, calls the policy a “small improvement”.

Naturally, teachers would welcome smaller class sizes. Students are arriving at schools with ever more diverse challenges such as the knock-on effects of pandemic lockdowns, higher recognition of autism and other spectrum conditions, family dysfunction, and technological disruptions such as social media.

National education spokeswoman Erica Stanford isn’t confident the change would make a discernable difference, saying many parents will fail to see how a promise to reduce some classes by one student in two years’ time will turn around our plummeting levels of achievement.

Last month, National unveiled its plan for education which included primary and intermediate schools being required to teach students for at least one hour a day on each of the subjects of reading, writing and maths lessons – and children will be tested on them at least twice a year in a new version of the controversial National Standards.

Act education spokesman Chris Baillie points out that reducing class sizes is less important than addressing students not turning up to school.

Of course, changing the teacher-student ratio will gladden some parents but guarantees little. The World Bank points out “the pupil-teacher ratio is often used to compare the quality of schooling across countries, but it is often weakly related to student learning and quality of education”.

A 1993 study by noted education academic Professor John Hattie noted an exponential increase in achievement as classes become smaller than 15 but ranked teacher-student ratios as one of the lowest determinants in education outcomes. More important, Hattie noted 30 years ago, were enthusiastic teachers and “the most powerful single moderator that enhances achievement is feedback”. Children thrive on attentive direction.

We’ve been here before, of course. Ahead of the 2014 election, Labour focused on reducing class sizes to one teacher to 26 students at primary and a maximum average class size of 23 at secondary schools although these goals were later dropped.

Given the weighting that considered academic opinion gives the teacher-student ratio, it would appear much more will be needed to move the dial on current levels of achievement in our schools.