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The New Zealand Curriculum - Mathematics and statistics

Statement of official policy relating to teaching, learning and assessment of mathematics and statistics in all English medium state and state-integrated schools in New Zealand.

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Tags

  • AudienceSchool leadersKaiakoBoards of trustees
  • Learning AreaMathematics and Statistics
  • Resource LanguageEnglish
  • Resource typeText/Website

About this resource

Mathematics and statistics is one of the learning areas in the New Zealand Curriculum, the official document that sets the direction for teaching, learning, and assessment in all English medium state and state-integrated schools in New Zealand. In mathematics and statistics, students explore relationships in quantities, space, and data and learn to express these relationships in ways that help them to make sense of the world around them. From 1 January 2025 the content on this page will only cover Years 9-13. The content covering Years 0-8 which comes into effect from 1 January 2025 is provided on a companion page.

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The New Zealand Curriculum - Mathematics and statistics

What is mathematics and statistics about?

Kei hopu tōu ringa ki te aka tāepa,
engari kia mau ki te aka matua.

Cling to the main vine, not the loose one.

Mathematics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space, and time. Statistics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in data. These two disciplines are related but have different ways of thinking and solving problems. Both equip students with effective means for investigating, interpreting, explaining, and making sense of the world in which they live.

Mathematicians and statisticians use symbols, graphs, and diagrams to help them find and communicate patterns and relationships, and they create models to represent both real-life and hypothetical situations. These situations are drawn from a wide range of social, cultural, scientific, technological, health, environmental, and economic contexts.

By studying mathematics and statistics, students develop the ability to think creatively, critically, strategically, and logically. They learn to structure and to organise, to carry out procedures flexibly and accurately, to process and communicate information, and to enjoy intellectual challenge.

By learning mathematics and statistics, students develop other important thinking skills. They learn to create models and predict outcomes, to conjecture, to justify and verify, and to seek patterns and generalisations. They learn to estimate with reasonableness, calculate with precision, and understand when results are precise and when they must be interpreted with uncertainty. Mathematics and statistics have a broad range of practical applications in everyday life, in other learning areas, and in workplaces.

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