Engineered to fail

Peter Hughes, a maths lecturer from the University of Auckland, claims that only a third of New Zealand students entering secondary school are numerate. Hughes makes this claim in light of the fact that a numeracy test he has created was seen as rather difficult by an unnamed secondary school's maths department head. The story even includes the test in question, which is assumed 70% of Year 11 students would fail, for readers to have a go at and click a link for the solutions. Now that's what I call interactivity.

In true form to Your Views, the problems and pitfalls of an entire education system come under scrutiny because of one person's specific claim about a specific topic - rates of numeracy in secondary school students. Your Views asks: Does the NZ education system fail to cover the basics? not "What are your impressions of the NZ education system?" or anything of a similarly open nature. Alongside the article and standing on its own, the question is coded with meaning and works to trigger responses that argue the NZ education does "fail to cover the basics".

The question has obviously encouraged those who seek to list one by one the evil temptations and trappings of modern childhood and how children are helpless victims of "brainwashing".
 
Help Us ASAP! (Auckland Central)
May be or may be not but it has a lot to do with the socialisation of what they learn at school. They may learn maths and writing at school, but in reality they are brainwashed by the media in TV, Video Games, GE foods, chemical drinks, and inappropriate peer pressure

Brainwashing!

Lucy in the Sky (Auckland Central)
Our schools focus on brainwashing the kids about nukes, the environment, global warming, eating right, charity, multiculturalism and political correctness, when all of these are the domain of the parent. They should be teaching school stuff, like reading, writing, maths, history, physics, chemistry, biology & geography. Stuff that matters.

More brainwashing! I'm confused about what "matters" according to Lucy in the Sky - surely things that are in the "domain of the parent" should be the things that "matter" most?

ryan (Bahamas)
Lazyness is also to blame. Too much tv and xbox and sports. I say throw away the TV, get some strict discipline in schools and bugger this pc nonsense that's destroyed NZ. Hell when i was at school there was nothing wrong with a good spanking, and good old fashioned discipline, short hair for boys etc,we are not making good citizens here

I get the feeling Ryan thinks a short haircut and a good spank would sort out a lot of the problems in New Zealand.

After all this talk of brainwashing and spanking, let's leave today's post with a thoughful response from bob of the Bay of Plenty. Three cheers for bob for putting his thinking cap on a little before clicking "send".

bob (Bay Of Plenty)
I'm a little puzzled by this article. Peter Hughes states that just a third of students are entering secondary school numerate and backs this up by using a comment from a secondary school teacher. Where's the research that backs up this highly inflammatory comment?
Further on in the article it states that Ministry of Education figures show our students are above the OECD average. So who is right here, the lecturer whose comments are backed up by a second hand comment from someone else. Or the Government department with research from a world renowned organisation?
Before jumping on this teacher bashing bandwagon I think some more considered research into this issue would be needed.