Maori Achievement in Literacy and Numeracy in a Sample of Canterbury Schools

Maori achievement in key learning areas has been an area of national focus with underachievment as a challenge for all educators in New Zealand. The perception of a group of school leaders in Canterbury refuted this claim by suggesting that Maori in their schools were achieving at a comparable level to non-Maori. This paper investigates the achievement in literacy and numeracy of 551 Maori and Non-Maori Year 6 students in a sample of 14 Canterbury schools. An engagement in school survey (NZCER) was also administered to students in 12 of these schools. Findings indicated that achievement using stanine levels was lower for Maori compared to Non-Maori. However, this pattern could not be explained by the students' self-reported level of engagement in school, because no significant difference relative to this variable emerged between Maori and non-Maori students.