A major study has found a 10 percent drop in the number of year eight students who enjoy maths compared to five years ago.
The National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement surveyed 4,000 year four and year eight children.
It also found Pacific children enjoy maths the most - despite having the lowest average scores.
It found overall maths achievement has stayed the same - children from higher-decile schools had higher average scores than children from lower-deciles.
New Zealand Council for Education Research chief researcher Charles Darr spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
