UN report cites ‘poverty’ factor

Poverty is widening the gap between New Zealand’s highest and lowest achievers at school, according to Unicef.

Reports released yesterday showed New Zealand had the second worst gap in educational achievement between girls and boys, and ranked in the bottom third of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries across all three school levels.

The gap between the OECD’s highest and lowest-performing students was made worse because of the effects of poverty, it said, but bullying and parents’ professions were also major factors in student outcomes.

This country was ranked in the bottom five for secondary school reading and equality rates, and had the second lowest primary school level reading abilities.

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Countries put New Zealand as the second worst offender for reading achievement at age 10.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund NZ executive director Vivien Maidaborn said the report highlighted the number of children who faced disadvantage at a very young age, particularly Ma¯ ori and Pacific children who were more likely to be affected by financial and material hardship.

‘‘This report is a bit like an X-ray. It can show us what is broken, but it doesn’t explain the reason it ended up that way,’’ she said.

‘‘Our education system splits children into achievers and nonachievers. The challenge is how we ensure that all children get the same chance to succeed.’’

Children with at least one professional working parent had ‘‘significantly higher’’ reading scores than children of non professionals and were more likely to go on to higher education.

The report said New Zealand students reached a ‘‘modest’’ international benchmark for reading achievement but was still in the bottom three, ahead of Malta but behind Israel and three spots behind Australia. Netherlands students were the highest achievers.

Unicef NZ child rights director Andrew Whittaker said the gap between the country’s lowest and highest-performing children needed to close but that did not mean pulling high performers down.

‘‘Every child has the right to an education and their success shouldn’t come down to what mum or dad do for work, or the neighbourhoods they grow up in.’’

The report also highlighted that just under 60 per cent of students had experienced bullying either weekly or monthly, which is more than twice the rate of the countries with the lowest rates.

New Zealand students reached a ‘‘modest’’ international benchmark for reading achievement but was still in the bottom three.