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January 21, 2025
The Report
A newsletter from The Hechinger Report
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In today's edition: New Zealand's plan to end academic tracking ([link removed]) in math classes. Inside the debate ([link removed]) that pits typing against handwritten notes. An opinion ([link removed]) about what President Trump could mean for education.
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The Kaiapoi North School in suburban Christchurch, New Zealand. Credit: Becki Moss for The Hechinger Report
For years, much like in the United States, New Zealand has worried about sliding student proficiency in mathematics, as captured by both national and international test scores. Later this month — the beginning of the New Zealand school year — the country is launching an overhaul of mathematics instruction ([link removed]) that education leaders hope will reverse the trend.

But other groups in the country have been trying to approach the problem of academic achievement from a different angle. They believe that streaming is driving achievement gaps in the country, including in mathematics. Tokona te Raki/Māori Futures Collective, a think tank focused on youth, has been working since 2019 to persuade schools to voluntarily end the practice by 2030. The initiative is called “Kōkirihia”— Māori for “take action.”

Streaming is just one of many ways that schools group students by academic ability. Ability grouping can include separating students into vocational or university tracks at different schools as early as age 10, as is common in Germany and other Western European countries. But it could also include teachers creating informal and non-permanent groupings within their own classrooms to provide enrichment or extra support to students who need it.

In New Zealand, critics say streaming pushes two groups into so-called “cabbage,” or lower-level mathematics, at a disproportionate rate: Māori students, who are indigenous to New Zealand, and students who are Pasifika, the New Zealand term for people from Samoa, Tonga and other nations in the Pacific Islands.
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Research

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Credit: Illustration by Camilla Forte/The Hechinger Report. Images by Jill Barshay/The Hechinger Report

Imagine you’re a student in high school or college. Class is about to start. You are faced with a notable dilemma: Should you whip out a notebook or a laptop to take notes?

The answer is not so simple. A widely cited neuroscience study is contested. Our columnist Jill Barshay explains the latest research ([link removed]) .
Headlines


** OPINION: The new administration could be on the verge of destroying public education as we know it ([link removed])
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The impact of eliminating the Department of Education could be devastating for our school system



** College Uncovered: What Comes Next on Campus? ([link removed])
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With Trump back in the White House, how much of his higher education message is rhetoric and how much will be policy?


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One country wants to close math achievement gaps by ending academic tracking ([link removed])
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New Zealand’s practice of ‘streaming’ students has hurt Māori and Pacific Islander students, advocates say


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New Zealand has a problem with mathematics. Can a new strategy make a difference for students? ([link removed])
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The government hopes new ‘explicit’ instruction can halt a slide in math achievement, but some teachers and principals aren’t convinced


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OPINION: College is worth it for most students, but its benefits are not equitable ([link removed])
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New research shows the value of higher education, despite troubling polls


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Writing notes instead of typing pits scholars against each other ([link removed])
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A widely cited neuroscience study is contested


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What education could look like under Trump and Vance ([link removed])
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[link removed] Republican leaders hope to restructure early education, K-12 schools and the nation’s colleges and universities

⭐ Extra credit! You are allowed to repost or reprint our stories as long as you follow these guidelines ([link removed]) . Questions? Email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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