11. Question No. 11—EducationERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 11—Education11. ERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her statement that year 8 progress has remained constant" since 2017 and why hasn't there been any improvement since 2017?Hon JAN TINETTI (Minister of Education): Yes there is no evidence of significant change in year 8 e-asTTle results since 2012. So therefore it has remained constant since 2017. There are a variety of reasons why this hasn't increased or improved since 2017. Some of those reasons include the fact that yes we had different cohorts each year; that we went through a global pandemic for two years where there was a lot of disruption to learning to due lockdowns students and teachers being sick and wider pressures on family life. The Government has invested into additional tutoring programmes to help students most affected by that lost learning—with great results. Other reasons include the widely acknowledged view that the curriculum has been too vague which is why the Government has invested in an evidence-based refresh of the curriculum so it is very clear what learning progressions must take place each year-level with literacy and numeracy as the priority subjects for implementation this year.Erica Stanford: Which is correct: her press release which states that "Forcing children to do an hour of reading writing and maths every day isn't going to make them enjoy or learn better"; or her comments on Newstalk ZB that "Those things are already happening in schools and I know they are and I can hand-on-heart tell you that was what was happening in my school."?Hon JAN TINETTI: Both are correct. The reason I say that is that is if you start with teaching an hour a day without doing the pedagogical work that sits underneath it then that is an absolute waste of time. What we want to focus on as a Government is actually making certain that teachers know what to teach and when to teach it—which is why we have the "Understand Know Do" model in the curriculum and it is already making a difference. When we get to that point then we can look at such things as time spent during the day. But no we're going to get the pedagogical side of it right first.Erica Stanford: Who should we believe: the Minister of Education on ZB last week when she stated that an hour a day of maths is already happening; or her literacy and numeracy action plan that states a rather different position: "Current evidence shows wide variation in maths learning time"?Hon JAN TINETTI: Actually that's what teachers will tell us is happening already in most schools. But let's be clear here: not all schools. That is why we are focusing on making certain that the pedagogical approaches are right first.Erica Stanford: Why did she issue a press release in response to the National Party's education policy stating that "Forcing children to do an hour of maths every day isn't going to make them learn better" when expert advice provided in the Royal Society maths report commissioned by her Government recommended exactly that?Hon JAN TINETTI: They also recommended that in conjunction with everything else as their recommendations. As I said it is with the pedagogical approach. Cherrypicking off bits and pieces of that will not make a difference to young people's learning.Erica Stanford: Can she explain how it is fair for one child in one school to get an hour of maths a day as recommended by the Royal Society experts while a child in another school the same age gets far less?Hon JAN TINETTI: Oh yes absolutely I can. Some people and some teachers will have a pedagogical approach that will mean that they don't need to do that. It would be inappropriate as I also said on ZB that a five-year-old would spend straight core subjects. In fact research—and research that I've read over the weekend—states that for fiveyearolds that would be too much to have for their cognitive learning ability."