More places available on the accelerated maths and pāngarau tutoring trial, Years 7-8

 

Following the success of Phase One of the Y7 and 8 Maths trial, we are now offering places to additional schools and students to take part in Phase Two of the trial, which starts with e-asTTle testing on 9 June 2025.  

Schools that take up this offer will still be entitled to the same funding for teachers and staff, training and support that was offered to the schools in the first Phase.  

There are more details included below about the what the trial involves, the different trial group options, selecting students and selecting teaching staff.  

If you have any questions, or would like to confirm your participation in Phase Two of the Maths trial, please have a read through this information and contact us confirming your student numbers and preferred intervention via [email protected]. The deadline for signing up to the trial is Friday 16 May 2025.

What teachers are saying about the trial

Teachers in the trial are reporting that their students are ‘really stoked to be there’ and are loving taking part in the sessions, even those that said they hated maths. 

Teachers are also sharing how the trial is providing an excellent opportunity to connect with parents and whānau through sending games and family challenges home, and face–to–face meetings. 

They say the trial is helping students to feel less anxious and more open to maths learning, and that the material and resources being used are also receiving positive comments.

Teachers also commented on how, after only a few sessions with their students, they are noticing remarkable improvements in both their in-session maths and how this is also transferring to their in the “regular” class maths.

Trial Design 

The trial will involve 4 x 30–minute sessions per week, where a teacher, teacher aide or tutor works with students who are currently needing Tier Two support. The trial aims to accelerate students’ learning so they can access the maths/pāngarau curriculum at the appropriate level (i.e. phase three of learning). The results of the trial will be used to inform a nation–wide rollout of the programme in 2026. 

The trial will see groups of approximately four Y7 and/or 8 students receiving additional maths/pāngarau support, four times per week. The trial will cover four key areas – fluency and application of basic facts, place value, rational numbers – fractions, decimals, percentages, and reasoning/decoding word problems. Students will be in face–to–face, online or hybrid groups;  

• In-school: A suitably qualified maths teacher provides additional tuition. The Ministry will provide a pack outlining essential guidance on mathematical content and accelerative pedagogies. Schools will receive funding to employ relievers and teachers if needed, as long as they meet the trial criteria (see ‘Staffing’ below).  

• Online: The Ministry will provide an on–line programme hosted by either Matific or Education Perfect that students work through independently, supervised by a teacher to ensure student is on–task and making progress. Supervision may include technical support in using the online tool, explaining language where needed, supporting with accessibility support where needed. Supervision does not include explicit teaching of maths concepts.

• Hybrid: Students will engage with an online tool, but are also supported by explicit teaching from a teacher. The teacher will work with students as they progress. 

It will be up to schools what days and times these sessions are held. 

Selecting students 

The criteria for selecting students is: 

• Year 7-8 students, who are not ready to access learning at the appropriate year level (i.e. the learning expected to be mastered by year 6).  
• Students whose acceleration needs will not be met by universal classroom teaching as supported by the revised curriculum, maths resources and PLD.  
• ESOL students and students with high and complex needs will not be included in the trial as it has not been designed to meet their needs. 

Good prior attendance is not one of the criteria, however, we do want to track it (e.g. did students with low attendance during the trial make less progress; did inclusion in the trial positively affect students’ attendance). 

Funding 

Initial funding will be paid to schools to cover the number of teachers or kaiako attending the Maths and Pāngarau Trial training, at $408 per person, per day.  

Once the actual number of teachers involved in the trial is confirmed, the remaining teacher release funding will be provided to each school as a direct payment via Pourato at the start of the trial. Funding will be allocated based on the number of tutoring groups your school is running, and is calculated on a pro–rata hourly basis. 

The Ministry will also directly cover the licence costs of the online tutoring tool for the online and hybrid options.  

Staffing 

Please make sure your school has enough teachers, kaiako, or experienced tutors available to run your trial groups. The criteria for staff to take part is: 

• Significant experience teaching students at Year 7–8.    
• Confidence in building the foundations of maths and/or pāngarau learning for appropriate year levels.   
• Experience in assessment and using data to inform next steps.    
• Proven experience teaching learners who may have disengaged from learning to accelerate their progress.   
• Have a clear methodology for supporting accelerated learning that is evidence based for maths and/or pāngarau.    
• Understanding of effective practices in the classroom and evidence-based approaches to mathematics.   
• Commits to attending support sessions to share experiences and learn from each other.    
• Understands the need to maintain fidelity of the trial (i.e. not creating own programmes, widening the scope, changing the timings of sessions etc.)   

They must have a strong understanding of assessment tools:   

• Assessment practices   
• Using data to adapt teaching strategies    

Training and support throughout the trial will be provided. 

Assessment 

The Ministry will provide an online e-AsTTle test for the trial. All students in the trial will need to be given this test at the beginning, middle and end of the trial to assess the effectiveness of each type of intervention and the progress students have made. The first test for students joining Phase 2 will need to be administered in the week of 09 – 13 June. 

Each school will need to ensure results are captured in e-asTTle, even if paper-based testing is used. We are collecting this data so we can plan how to scale up the trial for all schools in 2026. It will not be used for any other purpose. Student names will be removed from the data so only the National Student Number is used for each student. 
More information about how to access and use e-AsTTle can be found on this page in Tāhūrangi, and instructions for how to access the e-asTTle test will be provided ahead of the testing week.

Consent Forms 

Because we are collecting data on students we need consent for students to be in the trial. Consent forms will be provided for you to send to the families and whānau of all students participating in the trial. You will also be expected to keep a record of the responses but the Ministry does not need copies of these consent forms. 
Any student without a consent form will not be able to take part in the trial.  

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].