The Numeracy Development Projects (NDP) began with a pilot in 2000 and since then have expanded to involve almost all of the primary schools in New Zealand. This is the third compendium of papers detailing research into a range of aspects of the NDP. The twelve papers here have been written by academics, independent consultants, and Ministry of Education personnel who are in some way involved in the local mathematics education scene, if not in the NDP itself. The papers in this compendium are arranged under the headings of Student Achievement, Lead Teachers and Sustaining Numeracy in Schools, and Professional Practice.
The full report can be downloaded here, or individual chapters can be found on the NZ Maths website; http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/node/1614
Key Results
The capability and knowledge of teachers in primary and secondary schools, and in English and Māori medium settings, is improving.
Schools who continue to focus on numeracy achievement and collect numeracy information after the initial professional development phase showed an impressive improvement. They showed a significant increase in the percentage of Year 6 students achieving at or above the expected level, and a considerable reduction in the percentage of Year 6 students categorised as "at risk" from 2002 to 2006.
When comparing groups of students at the end of their first year in NDP, the improvement in achievement of Pasifika students was the largest (0.40 effect size), followed by students at low decile schools (0.38 effect size), and Māori students (0.35 effect size).
There are some area where improvement is still need, e.g. students' understanding of fractions and their ability to think proportionally.