PISA 2006: Mathematical Literacy - How ready are our 15-year-olds for tomorrow's world?
This report describes New Zealand’s results for mathematical literacy in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006, which covers 57 countries. It expands on information already released in international and national reports in December 2007. In 2006, mathematical literacy was a minor focus in PISA. This report also includes information on New Zealand results from 2003.
Author: Robyn Caygill, Nicola Marshall & Steve May [Ministry of Education]Date Published: September 2008
Conclusion
This report has examined the overall mathematical literacy performance of New Zealand’s 15-year-olds in PISA 2006 in comparison to other participating countries, and over time. In both PISA 2003 and PISA 2006, average achievement in mathematical literacy for New Zealand 15-year-olds was high in comparison to other countries. However, compared to the five top-performing countries, New Zealand had a larger proportion of students who demonstrated low levels of proficiency in mathematical literacy.
Comparisons of student achievement for different groups within the New Zealand population showed disparities in performance. Gender, ethnic grouping, immigrant status, and socio-economic status were background factors of New Zealand 15-year-old students associated to some extent with differences in performance in mathematical literacy. This report does not attempt to demonstrate any causal links between achievement and background factors, nor has it made any attempt to isolate which of these factors is the most important in predicting achievement. Further analyses of the data are needed to address these questions.
The challenge presented to the New Zealand education system by disparities among groupings is at the centre of many current education policies. The Ministry of Education’s current focus is on presence, engagement and achievement (Ministry of Education 2007). In primary schooling, building strong early foundations, with an emphasis on literacy and numeracy, is seen as critical for all students. To this end, the Numeracy Development Projects, targeted at both primary and secondary schooling, are currently being implemented to improve student performance in mathematics through improving the professional capability of teachers.
Education policies also focus on the specific background characteristics of students. Educators are encouraged to assume that all students can and will achieve, and to teach in a way that relates effectively to the backgrounds and aspirations of students. Ka Hikitia (Ministry of Education 2008a) and the Pasifika Education Plan (Ministry of Education 2006) both focus on realising the potential of Māori and Pasifika students.
The PISA 2006 results demonstrate that many of New Zealand’s 15-year-old students are already well prepared to apply their mathematical literacy skills effectively in their future lives.