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Could academic streaming in New Zealand schools be on the way out? The evidence suggests it should be

The research is clear – academic streaming in NZ schools is disadvantaging many children, write UC Education experts David Pomeroy, Kay-Lee Jones, Mahdis Azarmandi & Sara Tolbert in this excellent, collaborative piece for The Conversation.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins: streaming is incompatible with Treaty of Waitangi provisions.

Also known as tracking, setting and ability grouping, streaming has been called a systemic barrier to Māori educational success in one major analysis released in August.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins agreed, saying “streaming does more harm than it does good”.

The criticism should come as no surprise. Decades of research has shown streaming doesn’t lift achievement. While it may boost top streams a little, it usually drags down the achievement of students in bottom streams.

Given the main justification for streaming is that it lets teachers fine-tune learning activities to make them realistic but challenging, why doesn’t customised learning benefit all students?

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