Simple sums our kids can't do

Primary school children are struggling to solve basic maths problems.

Half of 11- and 12-year-olds could not divide 14 by 3, researchers have found.

But in a twist that has surprised educationists, they are getting better at complex tasks involving algebra, logic, identifying patterns and making estimates.

The findings are in a report from the National Education Monitoring Project - which evaluates primary-age achievement on a four-year cycle. The report was issued early today by the Ministry of Education.

The results are understood to be partly due to a shift away from rote learning, such as multiplication tables, and towards a conceptual understanding of the rules of maths.

But they are causing concern because simple arithmetical calculations are the building blocks for numeracy and are also used often in everyday life.

Education Minister Steve Maharey said the results were "a bit of a wake-up call".

A forum of education experts which analysed the findings said many students could not calculate simple percentage discounts.

They said children had shown a marked decline since the last testing, in 2001, in dealing with everyday tasks such as working out 10 per cent of $4.50. Fewer than half of Year 8 students could calculate simple fractions such as 1 minus one-third.

The report found "substantial decreases" or "slight declines" since 2001 in abilities with addition, multiplication, division and subtraction.

Children were asked 10 questions in each area, and on almost every task did worse or the same as those asked the questions four years ago.

Mr Maharey said the results were a reminder that core skills had to be taught well and teachers would be reminded of this.

"But it also shows we are making real progress in teaching the more complex skills."

The monitoring project, started in 1993, is part of a Government move to evaluate and improve teaching and learning. Monitoring is done by researchers at the University of Otago.

Ministry of Education senior learning policy analyst Steve Benson said the drop in basic abilities was a concern.

It had come about because of a focus on giving teachers a better understanding of maths concepts.

"They've taken their eye off the ball in basic facts."

The information had been passed to ministry maths advisers, and emphasis would be put back on the basics.

"They need to watch that the basic maths facts are not lost. They are what we all use each day," Mr Benson said.

In the monitoring project, groups of students are tested at Year 4 and Year 8. The latest results involved 2879 children in 248 schools.

The president of the Association of Maths Teachers, Alan Parris, said the results were not a major concern but showed that old-fashioned mental arithmetic was still necessary to ensure all children had "the basic building blocks that we all need".

The project also revealed that the overall gap between the performance of Pakeha and Maori and Pacific Island children has closed.

Mr Maharey said that had been a Government aim, and was encouraging news.

Other areas the project reported on were social studies, where Year 4 students showed a moderate improvement but Year 8 children showed no change, and information skills, which revealed the internet had overtaken libraries as children's first port of call for information.


Test yourself

135 divided by 3

* Only 45 per cent of Year 8 (age 11 and 12) students could answer this. In 2001, 55 per cent got it right.

67-43

* Two-thirds of Year 4 (age 7 and 8) students knew this, compared to three-quarters in 2001

10% of $4.50

* More than one-third of Year 8 students could not work this out

Answers: 45, 24, 45c