Strengthening mathematics/numeracy entry requirements for English medium primary Initial Teacher Education
If you’re great with numbers or passionate about arithmetic, you might not have thought about primary teaching, but actually it could be a great career for you! And it’s worth continuing with mathematics as a secondary school subject if you’re thinking about a career in teaching. Those are two messages from a new decision by the Teaching Council.
A strong foundation
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 Initial Teacher Education (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.
Student teachers enrolling in English medium primary 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.
Phasing in this new approach
Initially, candidates will have until graduation to pass the prescribed assessment, but this will transition to needing to pass the prescribed assessment prior to entry to the programme.
The transitional and ongoing arrangements starting from next year are summarised in the table below:
These changes only apply to English medium primary teaching programmes, not secondary and early childhood education teaching programmes. We have not yet consulted on an appropriate way to strengthen mathematics capability in Māori medium primary teaching programmes. 
For English medium primary programmes, this new requirement will replace the existing numeracy test for candidates commencing study from 2026 onwards.
The prescribed assessment
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).
This tool is free to use for both providers and students, and the Teaching Council will arrange with the New Zealand Council for Education Research (NZCER) for each ITE provider to receive guidance in early 2025 on how to access and use the test. More information about LNAAT can be found on the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults website.
Provision for special exemption requests to allow post-entry assessment
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 Level 1).
- 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.
Administering the assessments
In normal circumstances (i.e. where the transitional provisions and the special exemption 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).