Alwyn Poole
Began teaching in 1991. TBC, HBHS, St Cuths. Founded/led Mt Hobson MS–18 years. Co-founded SAMS and MSWA. Econs degree, Masters in Edn, tchg dip, post grad dip – sport.
Almost all socio-economically disadvantaged children fell behind in maths last year by year three, with 95 per cent below curriculum level and 70 per cent more than a year behind.
The proportion for this cohort of disadvantaged kids was almost as high for writing: 91 per cent were already below curriculum level in year three, with 80 per cent already more than a year in arrears.
That’s according to the latest foundational assessment data, for 2025, which shows the inequity gap widening not only in maths and writing but also in reading, where two out of three disadvantaged kids in year three were more than a year behind.
For reading, in 2023, 52 per cent of socio-economically disadvantaged year three students had fallen more than a year behind curriculum level. In 2025, it was 67 per cent.
The proportion for the same cohort for year six kids was 61 per cent in 2023, barely moving to 62 per cent in 2025. For the same grouping of year eight students, the leap from 2023 to 2025 was from 56 per cent to 66 per cent.
For writing, in 2024, the year three “more barriers” cohort who were more than a year behind was 56 per cent. Last year, it swelled to 80 per cent.
The share of the same cohort for year six kids was 74 per cent last year (up from 65 per cent in 2024), and for year eight students it was 79 per cent (up from 69 per cent in 2024).
The pattern is mirrored but far less pronounced for maths, when comparing the cohort’s 2023 and 2025 data: 67 per cent–70 per cent for year three and 79 per cent–83 per cent for year eight.
Year six bucked the trend, though the proportion of socially disadvantaged kids more than a year behind remained stubbornly high: 84 per cent in 2023, and 82 per cent in 2025.
The article does contain some positive points for the current government’s change in approach for some children and in some situations.
Genuine change will come – as I have stated before:
- When, as a nation, we truly enhance parenting and significantly increase the proportion of children arriving at school ready to go.
- When we get significantly more than 48 per cent of children at high Equity Index schools fully attending.
- When the Equity Index spend is much greater that a maximum of three per cent of a school’s funding to help students overcome disadvantage (EQI spending is a mere $250m out of a VOTE Education of approx. $7.5b.
- … among other things.
This article was originally published by Education – the Absolute Best Ways.
