Mathematics competence (primary ITE programmes)

Student teachers enrolling in English medium primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE)programmes commencing from 2025 onwards will need to demonstrate competence in mathematics by getting a score designated as equivalent to NCEA Level 2 in a mathematics assessment specified by the Teaching Council. 

These changes only apply to English medium primary teaching programmes. They do not apply to secondary and early childhood education teaching programmes. We are developing an appropriate way to strengthen mathematics capability in Māori medium primary teaching programmes. 

A strong foundation in mathematics is crucial to every primary school student’s educational success. 

The Teaching Council believes that by strengthening mathematics/numeracy entry requirements for primary ITE programmes, we can contribute to lifting the mathematics capability of primary teachers and support student achievement. 

This complements the work of ITE providers to prepare teachers with a strong grounding in the content and teaching practices of the mathematics and Pāngarau curricula areas. 

Prior to entry, candidates for English medium programmes must pass literacy and numeracy competency assessments, as set by the provider. The pass level in literacy and numeracy must be no lower than the equivalent to UE in literacy and numeracy. 

For English medium primary programmes, the new mathematics competence requirement will replace the existing numeracy assessment for candidates commencing study from 2026 onwards. 

The existing assessment will stay in place for secondary and ECE teaching programmes. We are developing an appropriate way to strengthen mathematics capability in Māori medium primary teaching programmes. 

The literacy competency assessment is unchanged. 

For 2025, the Teaching Council has determined that passing the prescribed assessment will entail a score of between 690 (generally predictive of success at NCEA Level 2) and 800 on the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool (LNAAT) developed by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). 

LNAAT is a free-to-use online assessment that has been in use since 2008. It provides users with a report on their results, including areas for development. It has a six-step progression aligned to the levels of the mathematics and statistics in the New Zealand Curriculum and to NCEA standards for numeracy assessment. 

It has been used by the University of Otago for the numeracy assessment that it requires ITE students to pass, so there is practical experience with its use for this purpose. 

More information about LNAAT can be found on the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults website.

In normal circumstances, i.e. where the transitional provisions and the special exemption (see below) do not apply, a candidate would be able to attempt the assessment twice as part of their application, the second time a month after the first.

It is important that the provider has confidence that the person undertaking the literacy and numeracy assessments is the same person who has applied to enter the programme, and that the candidate is not using additional external support to complete the assessments (for example the internet or someone sitting with them). 

LNAAT’s suitability and availability for use for the requirement beyond 2025 is subject to confirmation. We are working through any potential barriers with TEC and NZCER and will advise providers as soon as arrangements for 2026 and beyond are finalised. 

The current numeracy tests are set by individual ITE providers and required to be at least the level of the mandated NCEA Level 1 numeracy credits that are required for university entrance. This has been assessed¹ as corresponding to an LNAAT score of 605, which is the threshold for step 5 of the LNAAT numeracy progressions. A score of 690 is a step above that, at the threshold of the top step in the LNAAT progressions (step 6). 

¹. Gill Thomas, Michael Johnston and Jenny Ward, Alignment of Literacy and Numeracy Measures: Research for the Tertiary Education Commission, 30 June 2014.

From 2026 (one-year programmes) or 2027 (multi-year programmes), the Teaching Council will consider applications from providers seeking for a candidate/group of candidates to be able to demonstrate competence in mathematics through the prescribed assessment on a deferred basis. 

A deferred basis means prior to graduation for one-year programmes and prior to commencing the second academic year of the programme for multi-year programmes. 

Exemptions will only be granted where all of the following conditions are met: 

• The candidate(s), in their initial attempt at the prescribed assessment exceeded the minimum threshold for the current numeracy test (which is set at NCEA Level1). 
• The candidate(s) were strong applicants in other respects, and contributed to meeting diversity objectives and/or had other skills/attributes that made them high-quality applicants. 
• The provider was confident the candidate(s) had the potential to meet the specified minimum score range. 
• The provider attested that it was able and willing to support the candidate(s) to meet the specified minimum score range. 

A fee is likely to be charged to providers for processing a special exemption. 

Consultation in 2024 sought feedback on the provision of programmes to support candidates who did not fully meet the new entry requirement. While there was general support from the profession, the issues raised by some key stakeholders and advice from the ITE Working Group has led us to a different view. 

Considerable institutional resources are needed to develop and run these sorts of programme, which not all ITE providers have. 

The suggestion from the Working Group was that rather than rely on on-site support delivered by individual providers, support should focus primarily on asynchronous online offerings, prior to enrolments and independent of individual providers. 

This was seen as more practicable, with broader availability of access, and more cost effective than relying on individual providers to offer bridging programmes. 

We propose to investigate further opportunities of this type. 

However, those providers who seek to use the special exemption requests to allow post-entry assessment may need to offer bridging programmes or at least provide non-credentialised but structured support. 

Given that the use of a candidate’s NCEA record was not proceeded with, we expect that the mathematics requirement is likely to have only a modest impact on supply. 

The Teaching Council will, however, work with the Ministry of Education as the mathematics entry requirement policy is implemented to achieve the best possible understanding of teacher supply impacts and consider changes to the policy settings if needed.