A growing number of schools in Aotearoa New Zealand are removing streaming from their maths programmes. A recently released report from Tokona te raki advocates for the ending of streaming and highlights the journey of 4 schools as they destreamed their classes.
The following five questions were asked of each school in the study
- Why did you decide to end streaming in maths classes?
- How did you manage the shift?
- What was the outcome?
- What Challenges did you face?
- Where to next?
From the response to these questions common themes emerged which include
- Academic achievement improved especially for Māori and Pasifika students with more NCEA merits and excellences.
- Māori and Pasifika students continued studying mathematics for longer.
- Student self-belief, motivation and aspiration improved. They gained the confidence to tackle more challenging work and assessments, particularly externals.
- Social and ethnic barriers came down as students worked cooperatively in heterogeneous classes.
- All experienced resistance from some groups of parents and teachers at some point in the change journey.
- Professional development is key in supporting teachers in the transition away from streaming and into culturally responsive practice.
Find out more http://www.maorifutures.co.nz/stream/
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