21 Sep 2012

Reading, writing and arithmetic fail to measure up

11:03 pm on 21 September 2012

A new way of measuring pupils' performance shows 42% of Maori school children are underachieving in their writing skills.

The first set of results from the Government's new National Standards were released on Friday.

The data also shows 34% of Maori are failing to meet the reading standard.

It's a similar picture for maths, with only 63% reaching the benchmark set by the Ministry of Education.

Education Minister Hekia Parata says it's concerning that a number of Maori are not meeting the standards.

But she says the data will help officials to target students who are falling behind and give them the help they need.